Stories about Weblog from August, 2016
Where’s the Outrage Over Iran’s Exploited Children?
"I dream every night that my parents and brothers and sisters are looking for me. I wake up every morning crying."
Ahmad Abughaush, Jordanian Gold Medalist, and the Erasure of Palestinian Identity
To those who know the history of Palestine, Ahmad Abughaush's surname speaks volumes. Yet this information was absent from news reports on his gold medal triumph at the 2016 Olympics.
Want to Celebrate Blog Day? Get Yourself to Paraguay!
On August 31, the world celebrates Blog Day. A group in Paraguay is making something special of the holiday.
Independent TV Station and Two Community Radio Stations Suspended Amid Disputed Elections in Zambia
"Zambia is slowly becoming a court room. We all must be careful when we speak out on issues of national interest."
These Videos Expose the Dirty and Destructive Impact of Large-Scale Mining in the Philippines
Residents and investigative journalists have been using mobile phones and even drones to expose how mining is destroying the country’s watersheds and rivers.
An Ethiopian Runner Makes a Brave Gesture of Anti-Government Protest at the Olympic Finish Line
"#FeyisaLilesa used the biggest stage of his life to express a muzzled generational cry for freedom. He spoke without words. #courage"
The ‘Different Yet Equal’ Protest Politics of Sri Lanka
The vigil highlighted that the insecurity felt by some Sinhala Buddhists continues to persist, despite the fact that they remain the country's majority community.
‘Safe Schools': Life-Saving Anti-Bullying Program or Radical Sexual Indoctrination? Australians Can't Agree.
A petition opposing 'Safe Schools' - a program designed to promote acceptance of LGBT students - has reignited national debate over how far school inclusion policies should go.
Chinese Volleyball Coach Lang Ping Has Spent Her Career Thinking Outside the Communist Party Box
"She is an independent Chinese who has been exposed to the international field of sport, she is not a cog in the machine of a national bureaucratic sports system."
A Brazilian Judge Says a Photographer Has Himself to Blame for Getting Shot in the Eye by Police
"The decision of judge Olavo Zampol Júnior is another shameful and monstrous episode of judicial violence against the victims of military police."
A Citizen Journalist in India Took on the Local Government Over Pensions—and Won
"I know how important are a few hundred rupees in an impoverished person’s life. It means food, medicine and security."
Tremors Hit Southern Peru, Leaving Thousands Without a Home
A strong earthquake shook the Peruvian province of Arequipa in mid-August, killing at least four people and leaving hundreds without a home.
Philippine Sugar Farmers Facing Another ’Dead Season’ Turn to Government for Help
Tiempo Muerto, or “The Dead Season,” can be so brutal on farmers that more than a quarter of a million people—a whopping 385,000 sugar workers—are affected on Negros Island alone.
Peruvian Pokémon Go Players Eager to Cover More Ground Are Hiring Motorcycle Taxi Drivers
"The rarest Pokémons are found in avenues outside downtown though, so we drive without distractions while the user catches them."
Where's the Party At? Trinidadian Developers Created an App for That!
A passion for partying has inspired two young Trinidadian software developers and entrepreneurs to design an app that makes it easy for other partygoers to find their groove.
A New Digital Tool Helped Rio de Janeiro Activists Document Abuses in the Olympics
CrowdVoice.by enables activists and grassroots organizations to collaboratively curate media related to their causes.
Say Hello to Thailand’s New Constitution. And Say Hello Again to Thailand’s Military Rule.
By all accounts, Thailand’s new constitution boosts the dominance of the military, threatening to institutionalize even further a culture of censorship and state control over the media.
Breaking the Siege of Aleppo
"The perception is that the US is collaborating with the attackers. If democratic anti-regime forces are crushed by foreign powers and Shia militias, violent extremism will grow in its place."
A Jamaican Company's Offensive Olympic Tweet Offers a Lesson in Social Media Responsibility
A derogatory tweet about Omar McLeod after his gold-medal win in hurdles could have cost one Jamaican company "way more brand equity and real loss of dollars".
In India, a Nationalistic ‘Witch Hunt’ Targets Journalists Who Exposed #BabyLift Trafficking Operation
According to its constitution, India is a secular republic with freedom of expression, but it also prohibits anything that hurts religious or ethnic sensitivities.
Nicaragua Has a Cervical Cancer Problem. A Coffee Farm Is Trying to Help.
Nicaragua has the highest cervical cancer death rate in the Americas —and women must face down societal pressure even to get treated.