Stories about LANGUAGES from October, 2020
Trinidad & Tobago team reports ‘minimal to no risk’ of an oil spill from stranded Venezuelan tanker
A group of experts from Trinidad and Tobago comprised “the first agency besides engineers of Venezuela” to set foot on the vessel, which carries approximately 1.3 million barrels of crude oil.
Official obfuscation trails the Lagos shooting of anti-police protesters
To cover their tracks after the gunning down of unarmed, peaceful protesters, some Nigerian state institutions are promoting false information and propaganda on social media.
Fighting disinformation and fact-checking the Myanmar election
Global Voices interviewed Thet Min, fact-checker for ‘Real or not’ fact-checking news website, about their efforts to expose and stop disinformation in Myanmar ahead of the November 8 elections.
Ali Banisadr and the art of ‘visual thinking’
Ali Banisadr's MATRIX 185 exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is the Iranian-American artist’s first solo museum exhibition in the US.
Indian ad featuring Hindu-Muslim family pulled after rightwing backlash
The advert by jewellery brand Tanishq shows a Hindu woman being led by her Muslim mother-in-law to a traditional Hindu baby shower.
Nigerian military opens fire on peaceful protesters in Lagos
Nigerian security officials opened fire on protesters in Lekki, Lagos, reportedly killing at least three people. Civil society groups say the government has "declared a war on the people."
#EndSARS protest movement at a crossroads as government evades the issue
The Nigerian government has shown zero commitment to protesters’ demands for police reform but wallows in self-deluding verbal platitudes that are as ineffectual as they are dishonest.
Thailand's democracy protests reflect rising dissatisfaction over the monarchy
Criticizing the monarchy is a crime in Thailand yet protesters, especially young activists, continue to organize rallies calling for monarchy reforms.
The Caribbean's case for reparations: Part III
Reparatory justice can play an important role in dealing with challenges like disease, climate change and COVID-19, all of which pose existential threats to the region.
Myanmar's election commission censors speeches of political parties in run-up to election
"This censorship seems like something the dictatorship did. They shouldn’t mess with the party’s tone. Shouldn’t there be freedom of expression?"
Undaunted by the October 16 crackdown, protestors once again take to Bangkok’s streets
"There is no more staying neutral, either you side with democracy or side with dictatorship that uses power unfairly."
Marine ecosystems and livelihoods at risk if Venezuelan oil tanker sinks
The FSO Nabarima, a tanker filled with approximately 1.3 million barrels of crude oil, is in imminent danger of sinking and causing an ecological disaster in the Gulf of Paria.
Understanding pandemic fatigue
As we continue to struggle to maintain safety measures, it is important for us to shift from a culture of blaming to one that supports and leads with kindness.
Australian sexual assault victims blast Tinder dating app's safety practices
"Yet again, women are not believed, and are diminished and devalued. Horrific stories of sexual assault and harassment."
In the Ural regions of Russia, Finland's linguistic roots live on
Russia's linguistic diversity is as expansive as the country itself. The Finnish writer Ville Ropponen shares his reflections on the past, present and uncertain future of the Uralic languages.
New book tells stories of suffering and resistance from Iran’s female prisons
In "White Torture," Narges Mohammadi interviews 12 female political prisoners—and shares her own experiences in an Iranian jail, where she spent eight and a half years.
Caribbean alphabet series provides lots of laughs on TikTok
Laughter has become a critical coping mechanism in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in an era of social media "influencers," can anyone lay claim to originality?
The Caribbean's case for reparations: Part II
"We transformed these broken colonies into functional democracies without any support […] and now we have this debt crisis because we were abandoned by those who plundered our wealth."
K-Pop band BTS targeted by Chinese netizens over Korean War comments
BTS leader Kim Nam-joon paid tribute to the U.S. and South Korea in the 70th anniversary of the war. Chinese netizens say he should have acknowledged Chinese deaths too.
Facebook to include Holocaust denial in its definition of banned hate speech
Human rights organizations and academic institutions praised Facebook's decision to address Holocaust denial and related conspiracy theories through enhanced self-regulation.
After three months of anti-government protests in Bulgaria, what’s at stake?
A prominent politician treated a public beach as his private property. Now, broad public demonstrations demanding the total overhaul of a corrupt political system.