Stories about Feature from January, 2022
Why Beijing’s artificial snow at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games is stirring controversy
The Winter Olympic Games start in Beijing, on February 4: For the first time, all of the snow at the Games will be entirely man-made.
Belgium introduces new passport design featuring characters from domestic comics
"The introduction of this new passport is also an opportunity for us to highlight the 9th art, the comic strip, which is a central element of our culture and our influence abroad"
COVID-19: You can’t have a recovery using the same bad medicine
A new collaborative report attempts to piece together the “missing receipts” from the IFI-supported COVID-19 response, documents several shortcomings, and raises critical questions for the ongoing pandemic response.
Russia rose to second place globally in Twitter content removal requests
Russia came in second place after Japan and accounted for 25 percent of global Twitter takedown requests in January-June 2021. Most requests targeted content that allegedly violated local laws against suicide promotion.
Seed exchange in Colombia promotes traditional knowledge and food sovereignty
Different varieties of potatoes and corn, among other foods, are exchanged to recover ancestral ways of consumption.
The Gambia’s AFCON debut: from underdogs to title contenders
The Gambian team, though first timers in the African Cup of Nations, now seem capable of mounting an unlikely title chase in a competition that provided them with dark moments.
Tennis star Peng Shuai and Professor Gulnar Obul: From captives to actors
The fate of a tennis star and a professor who had criticized the Chinese leadership showed a similar pattern. The critique turned into a forced public support.
Tongans share stories of how they survived the volcano eruption and tsunami
"It felt like the heavens cracked open and the world exploded inside my ear. I’ve never heard a louder noise in all my life."
The issue of the Jamaican police allegedly cutting a young woman's dreadlocks remains unresolved
"Ms. King is symbolic of the ‘have nots;’ in Jamaica, who continue to be neglected and whose human rights are so often disregarded and abused."
Why a writer is on trial for calling Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s son obese
An unapologetic critic of the Museveni government, Kakwenza rose to prominence in April 2020 when he was arrested and detained for a week by Uganda’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence.
Belarusian cyberactivists claim railway system hack to protest Russian troop movements
The hacker collective said it would be prepared to hand over encryption keys if 50 Belarusian political prisoners were released and the presence of Russian troops in Belarus was “prevented.”
In Turkey, a singer defies threats with a new song
The president, speaking after Friday noon prayer, said "no one can defame his holiness Adam. It is our duty, to rip out the tongues of those who do when necessary."
Ibex in the Yemeni civilization: a historical symbolism being revived
Numbers of the ibex in Yemen shrank drastically over the past three decades due to over-hunting, especially in Hadhramout and Shabwa, with fears of it going extinct.
As Kenyans prepare for a general election, how will officials combat fake news?
Is this election likely to be any different? These fact-checking startups have recently stepped up their efforts to counter fake news and prevent a hijack of Kenya's democracy.
What Samuel Eto’o’s ascension to football leadership means to Cameroon
Cameroonians have been desperate to see a change at FECAFOOT. They don’t only hope to see a huge transformation in the management of football, they actually expect it.
Internet watchdog finds encryption flaw in mandatory Chinese Olympic app
Athletes, journalists and all other attendees of the Beijing Winter Olympics are required to use the My2022 app but data submitted through the app may be intercepted.
Gang truce or not, President Bukele is still popular in El Salvador
Despite international condemnation of Bukele's use of military and authoritarian governing style, most Salvadorans continue to trust in Bukele.
Lagos’ train acquisition is Wisconsin's loss
The train acquisition by Nigeria’s Lagos State gave closure for a local toxic partisan politics between Wisconsin’s Democrats and Republicans that resulted in the trains being unused for ten years.
Were the Kazakhstani protests predictable?
Researchers found the root causes of popular dissatisfaction in Kazakhstan already in place in late 2019. Similar demands were at the core of the January protests that shook the country.
Tobago ditches ‘colonial’ dress code, waits for its sister isle, Trinidad, to catch up
“To refuse service to anyone for any reason related to dress codes are discriminatory, classist, and rooted in colonialism and segregation.”
In Turkey, a veteran pop star is facing scrutiny over song lyrics
The 67-year-old singer-songwriter, Sezen Aksu, is being accused of degrading religious values because one sentence in her song reads, "Give my regards to the ignorant Eve and Adam."