Stories about Weblog from November, 2018
Dissident novelist’s close call casts a shadow on Hong Kong's once-vibrant cultural scene
Since the 1950s, Hong Kong has had a proud tradition of exile literature and art. Recent events suggest they're under threat.
Guyana's transgender community celebrates the overturning of an archaic cross-dressing law
Activists called the ruling “a clarion call to engage state actors on how the law engenders social and economic exclusion of disadvantaged groups”.
Netizen Report: Tanzania’s crackdown on free speech targets media advocates from CPJ
Committee to Protect Journalists staffers were detained in Tanzania, China is flagging fake news on Weibo and activists across Africa face arrest on defamation charges.
Mozambique’s new China-funded Maputo-KaTembe bridge, the longest in Africa, comes with high tolls
At 785 million US dollars, the bridge is the most expensive infrastructure project undertaken in Mozambique since its independence in 1975.
One year on, Brazil’s ‘unrestricted outsourcing’ law fails to create jobs
A recent Federal Supreme Court's decision to approve unrestricted outsourcing may lead to job instability in Brazil.
‘Tuition free for all in public universities in Liberia’, says President George Weah
Mr. Weah’s tuition-free announcement sounds plausible, but neither he nor the Liberian government has the monetary and logistical support for the realization of the policy.
Jamaican dancehall artist hits a nerve by ‘bleaching’ her skin — did fans get the message?
"I wanted to create awareness of 'Colorism' and it was ... done intentionally to create shock value so that I could ... deliver the message in my music," Spice said.
Who is Sérgio Moro, the Brazilian judge who sentenced former president Lula and will be Bolsonaro's ‘superminister'?
Moro is a controversial figure, seen by some as a symbol of the fight against corruption, but by others as having taken partisan actions in persecuting certain figures.
Arrival of the ‘migrant caravan’ lays bare Mexico's own anti-immigration side
"Mexico has a long and proud tradition of open doors to persecuted people, in exile, or victims of violence [...] Why are there first and second class exiles and refugees?"
The Caribbean Court of Justice loses again — this time with voter apathy and distrust
"People do not trust the power institutions, the hierarchies in the region — and that's not going to change for a long time to come."
Tanzania's stance on homosexuality points to an increasingly repressive political agenda
Even if Tanzania sorts out its mixed messages on homosexuality and human rights — there are other challenges keeping the foreign affairs minister up at night.
Activists in Macedonia win fight for clean water despite years of dismissal by former government
"Clear drinking water without arsenic is a present for the people of Gevgelija on 7th of November"
A conversation with Gyani Maiya Sen, one of the last speakers of a dying Nepali language
"...her commanding tone was the evidence of the aura she might have carried around when she was young -- powerful like a ‘queen of the jungle'."
The Litani River, Lebanon's main artery, is facing an environmental crisis
"A study has shown that the water extracted from the Litani for irrigation during the drier summer months is basically sewage."
Pakistani right-wing political party meets online backlash after sowing violence in Asia Bibi case
After countrywide violent protests by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, petitions and campaigns are launched against the religious political party.
Amid police raids and vigilante threats, Brazilians fear for freedom of expression in public universities
"There is an empowerment of conservative ideas inside of the state apparatus that is very, very dangerous."
Zimbabwe's black rhinos at risk as China reverses a 25-year ban on horns
Conservationists lack the financial resources required to increase security and boost capacity to monitor and track poachers in Zimbabwe's national parks. China's partial ivory-ban reversal may make matters worse.
Algerian TV network director files defamation case against independent journalists
"When we denounce corruption and favouritism, it’s an act of patriotism....we are an actor of stability, seeking to drive the country in the right direction".
Life after Manus: Talking to Iranian cartoonist Eaten Fish about life in and out of Australia's detention camps
"I had to steal papers from workers and it took me more than two years to send my drawings out. It is the only reason why I am still alive."
Africa uncovered: an interview with Aida Muluneh
"[...] being African is really more complex as well and it’s not just one thing. There are different definitions and different interpretations and I just happen to be one of those."
Volunteers chronicle the lives of murdered Colombian activists in words and drawings
"Postales para la memoria" (postcards for memory) is a collaborative project in which illustrators and writers volunteer to draw portraits and write short biographies of the murdered activists.
