Featured stories about History
Stories about History
21 February 2020
Can a beloved Tashkent theatre resist the wrecking ball?
The famed Ilkhom Theatre may have survived decades of censorship and economic upheaval, but now it faces another foe: massive urban redevelopment in the Uzbek capital.
19 February 2020
Nigeria’s Victor Olaiya: Trumpeter and ‘evil genius’ of highlife music (1931-2020)
"They thought I moved highlife music out of the ordinary. My highlife was a little bit out of this world, beyond explanation..." — Victor Olaiya
13 February 2020
Broadcasters from Nigeria join global celebration of World Radio Day 2020
Nigerian broadcasters joined radio practitioners around the world to honor the powerful role that radio plays in global development on World Radio Day, February 13, 2020.
4 February 2020
A Mexican engraver revives a mostly-forgotten Russian printmaking tradition
Interview with Alejandro Barreto, the engraver who makes unique Mexican lubki.
30 January 2020
Nigeria's Operation Àmò̩té̩kùn: Was it named after a leopard, cheetah or tiger?
Linguists who study Yorùbá have long taken issue with ascribing meaning of the word àmò̩té̩kùn interchangeably with the leopard, cheetah and tiger.
29 January 2020
Subdued recognition in Japan for Sugihara Chiune on 75th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation
As a diplomat in Lithuania in 1940, Sugihara issued 6,000 visas for Jews looking to flee to the Americas via Japan.
28 January 2020
21 January 2020
Yorùbá loanwords: How languages evolve
Using Yorùbá words in their original forms helps ensure that culture — kept alive through language — continues to thrive.
Redemption Song: My journey to marijuana activism
"Ganja has been a source of inspiration, meditation and medication on my journey as a mixed-race, working-class Caribbean woman trying to make a way in this capitalist world."
20 January 2020
Restoration of Trinidad and Tobago's heritage buildings stirs debate
The restoration of heritage buildings in Trinidad and Tobago has sparked a national conversation on whether this is the best use of public funds.
Baul singer Shariat Sarkar arrested in Bangladesh for ‘insulting’ Islam
Baul singer Shariat Sarkar is accused of making comments which hurt the “religious sentiment” of Muslims. He says that there is no evidence forbidding music in Islam.
19 January 2020
Zanzibar says goodbye to legendary ‘king of kidumbak,’ musician Makame Faki
Legendary Zanzibari musician Makame Faki Makame has died at the age of 77. He was hailed as the king of kidumbak and a master of taarab, Zanzibar's "national sound."
14 January 2020
‘An interplay between Western and Eastern Cultures': Two art exhibitions on cultural collisions
In October 2019 in Brooklyn, New York, two women artists from Iran and Pakistan exhibited new bodies of work in which they portrayed the interplay between Western and Eastern cultures
13 January 2020
The Trinidadian that inspired Sam Mendes’ WWI epic, ‘1917’
Trinidadian Alfred Mendes had a long and extraordinary life in which he was many things – war hero, writer, politician – all of which was worthy of the big screen.
12 January 2020
In Modi’s India, anti-Bangladeshi-immigrant rhetoric is used to justify changes in citizenship laws
The implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens in India and the rhetoric of deportation of "illegal Bangladeshis" have put the India-Bangladesh relation on stress.
Zanzibar mourns the death of Omani sultan who strengthened historical ties with East Africa
Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman was known to many as a "quiet diplomat" who modernized Oman and restored and strengthened historical ties with Zanzibar and East Africa.
10 January 2020
Interfaith harmony disturbed after Sikh holy site attacked in Pakistan
Sikh holy sIte Gurdwara Janam Ashtam at Nankana Sahib city near Lahore Pakistan was attacked by violent mobs and communal and hateful slogans against the Sikh minority community were raised.
9 January 2020
Is Taiwan an unrecognized country?
"While today the international community is happy to maintain the current status-quo when dealing separately with Taiwan and China, certain political forces in both places are advocating for a change."
8 January 2020
Ahead of Taiwan's presidential election, KMT accuses DPP of ‘green terror’ and Beijing echoes
The political label “green terror” is also circulating widely on mainland Chinese state-affiliated media and social media outlets.
7 January 2020
Six years after deadly crackdown of garment strike in Cambodia, families say no hope for justice
"Justice seems as far away as the horizon, or like searching for a needle in the bottom of the sea. We have not yet seen the light of justice."
