Stories from November, 2019
Teenage girls want to help victims of domestic violence in Albania with new app
The app connects survivors of domestic violence to important resources, including shelters, police, and support groups.
Messages in motion: The art of Swahili sayings on public transport in Zanzibar
"They know that people will comment on the condition of their vehicle, or the way they drive. . . and they want to block you — they want you to laugh instead."
Hong Kong Polytechnic University on fire after violent clashes between protesters and police
As riot police stormed another university campus in Hong Kong, protesters set fire to create barricades.
Fear and uncertainty: The life of Georgians in Gali
For ethnic Georgians in breakaway Abkhazia, life is a bureaucratic nightmare.
Some foreign correspondents were denied entry to Putin’s press conference in Budapest
Like Hungarian journalists critical of the government, foreign journalists working in the country are now facing an information blockade.
Tashkent theatre offers window into Japanese internment after World War II
Of all the Japanese interned for forced labour by the Soviet Union after the end of the war, about 25,000 were taken to Uzbekistan.
Antigua & Barbuda wants Harvard Law School to ‘make amends’ for the gains it enjoyed from slavery
"Admitting that Harvard benefited greatly from the backs of slaves in Antigua and making a few token changes to [...] a shield does nothing to correct the grave injustice."
Iranian-Kurdish refugee Behrouz Boochani free at last from Australian offshore detention
"I just arrived in New Zealand. So exciting to get freedom after more than six years."
The November 12 clashes at the Chinese University of Hong Kong: An eyewitness view
"Some of my students were tweeting things like “where is the university president, where is the management, where are the teachers?!”. . . I decided, Fuck it—I’m going to campus."
Malaysian writer faces probe after publishing a book about her decision to not wear a hijab
"It is important for us to remind the government that freedom of expression is not a crime and freedom of religious beliefs is not an insult to Islam."
Your guide to the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election
On 16 November 2019, Sri Lankans are going to the polls to elect a new president. Learn more about the major players and check out our list of useful resources.
University of the Philippines unveils new subject on the Marcos dictatorship to counter historical revisionism
The new subject can be a platform for the “conscientization” of young Filipinos on the importance of human rights, social justice and the continuing struggle for genuine freedom and democracy.
Hong Kong's university campuses turned into battlefields amidst a three-day strike
Clashes between police and student activists started the first day of the general strike on 11 November as some protesters attempted to create roadblocks to disrupt traffic.
‘Brazil might not be a dictatorship, but it's not a democracy either,’ says Brazilian journalist
Mário Magalhães wrote a book about 2018, the year that changed Brazil forever.
No major problems with fake news in Croatia, says news anchor
"We in Croatia have no major problems with false news, at least not in the mainstream media, but there is a certain distortion of facts on the margins of the media scene."
In Mozambique, Frelimo's landslide electoral victory rejected by opposition
Frelimo also elected 184 out of 250 seats of the unicameral legislative and all 10 provincial governors.
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong responds to Thai Army Chief
Joshua Wong gives updates on the Hong Kong protest and addresses allegations by Gen Apirat Kongsompong, Thai Royal Army Chief.
Stubble burning and polluted rivers choke India's capital
This year, the Indian national capital region is facing a severe pollution crisis as smog grows out of control and toxic foam covers the badly-polluted Yamuna River.
The future of asylum seekers is uncertain in Sri Lanka
"The authorities must take urgent steps to guarantee the safety, dignity and human rights of all refugees and asylum seekers, ensuring that they are safe and have humane living conditions."
Former university lecturer jailed for online posts in Vietnam
Vietnamese authorities continue their crackdown on freedom of expression against ordinary citizens even when they do not engage in any grassroots activism or political movements.
Letter to China: My Uyghur friend Zainur has been detained in one of your camps for two years
"They scanned the faces of anyone who entered the masjid. They banned fasting. We buried our books. They told us to remove locks from our doors. 'I don’t know why.'"