Stories from 12 February 2016
It's Halftime in Russia
With oil prices tumbling and Russia’s economy on hard times, a carmaker is falling back on one of the industry’s most dependable marketing tactics: appealing to consumers’ sense of patriotism.
Hong Kongers’ Long-Simmering Distrust of Government Boils Over in the ‘Fishball Riots’
"...we will fight back. We will not act like the fools in the Occupy Central protest, sitting there and waiting for the cops to arrest them."
Satirists React to Arrest of Prominent Egyptian Cartoonist Islam Gawish
Egyptian cartoonist Islam Gawish was detained briefly for running a website without a license and drawing cartoons with "political connotations." He was released after a backlash on social media.
Living the Spanish Language as the Descendant of Afro-Caribbean Migrants in Costa Rica
Shirley Campbell's parents decided not to speak to her and her siblings in English, perhaps as an attempt to give them one less reason to be different.
Italy's Gesture of ‘Respectful’ Self-Censorship for Iran Ends Up Offending Italians
"I don’t think President Rouhani would have been surprised to find there were nude statues in Rome."
When a Syrian Town Has So Many Foreign Fighters That English and German Are Common Languages
Manbij is populated by so many foreign fighters that English and German are now commonly spoken languages in the small town.
