Stories about Politics from August, 2019
22 August 2019
Reducing carbon footprint and waste generation is the need of the hour, says Indian environmentalist
Global Voices talked with lawyer and environmentalist Afroz Shah, prominently known for launching the world's largest beach clean-up drive in India's financial capital, Mumbai.
21 August 2019
Remembering the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
Over a third of young Czechs are unable to make a link between the date of August 21, 1968 and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
As a top government official is arrested in Trinidad & Tobago, the corruption debate rages
Why was McDonald fired and reappointed so many times? Does Trinidad and Tobago have a culture of enabling corruption? The minister's arrest has prompted a wider debate.
20 August 2019
Twitter reveals China's information operations on Hong Kong protests
A network of 200,000 accounts operated in conjunction to undermine the legitimacy of the Hong Kong movement, Twitter said in a statement.
Tonga threatens to ban Facebook over anti-monarchy posts
"By trying to impose a ban the government will simply make itself look foolish or ineffective."
19 August 2019
Pakistan's government suspends relations with India in show of solidarity with Kashmiris
After Narendra Modi's government in India scrapped Article 370, many Pakistanis asked the ruling party to take action.
Mainland Chinese netizens face ‘pink terror’ of patriotic trolls amid Hong Kong protests
Those who do not toe the official party line are identified and subjected to doxxing.
18 August 2019
China inspects Hongkongers’ mobile phones for protest photos and chats at border checkpoints
In the face of border searches, Hong Kong protesters are picking up new technology tactics to mitigate their risk.
16 August 2019
Vitriolic response to art exhibit tests the limits of freedom of speech in Japan
A controversial art exhibition at an arts festival in Japan has led to government criticism, threats, at least one arrest, protests by artists and questions about freedom of expression.
Indian government asks Twitter to remove accounts ‘spreading rumours’ about Kashmir
With the communication blackout inside Kashmir, netizens elsewhere resorted to Twitter to speak out against India's revocation of the region's autonomous status.
Apprehension rises over the abduction of a Nigerian government critic
Dadiyata, a fierce critic of Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje, was abducted on August 1 and nothing has been heard of him since.
Indian-administered Kashmir is like an ‘open prison’, says observers
"What is happening in Kashmir is 'normal' in the sense that state-backed violence, deceit and lies, gag on civilian voices, and govt propaganda have always been a 'normal' in Kashmir."
15 August 2019
On activism and the self
"Behind the instagrammable image of the fierce-looking individual with a clenched fist is a person who is constantly rationalizing and reaffirming their fidelity to radical politics."
14 August 2019
Oral historians and archivists fill in the record of the 1947 partition of India
Historians are working on getting the remaining survivors of the Partition to recall the events so their stories can be preserved.
Beijing says Hong Kong anti-extradition protests show signs of ‘terrorism’
"The bloody crackdown is extending and you cannot see the border or a definitive sign in Hong Kong’s version of June 4..."
13 August 2019
Who are the presidential candidates in Mozambique's October elections?
On July 31, Mozambique's Constitutional Council approved four candidates: Filipe Nyusi, Ossufo Momade, Daviz Simango and Mário Albino.
Malaria has affected over 5 million people in Burundi so far this year
In Burundi, so far this year, malaria has affected 5,738,661 million people — that's about half its population. Yet, the government hesitates to declare an epidemic.
12 August 2019
A Brazilian journalist uses deepfake to make political satire
"They are not made to forge a reality, but a certain situation, with humour and in a critical way."
11 August 2019
Cambodia reduces number of public holidays to attract jobs, but activists are concerned it could undermine democracy
"Omitting the Paris Peace Agreement and Human Rights days from the public-holiday list reflects that the government is unwilling to promote democracy any longer."
