Featured stories from August 2020
Stories from August, 2020
Calls for unity as Trinidad & Tobago celebrates Independence Day
"The General Election 2020 flipped Trinidad and Tobago over and exposed what can be described as its ugly underbelly […] laid bare seething tensions that have simmered between ethnicities."
Livestream of Australia’s penguin parade brings smiles around the world
"Happiness is the daily #PenguinParade @PhillipIslandNP! How can these little penguins not make you smile?"
Bangladesh battles the country's longest-running floods since 1998
The devastation comes at a time when emergency and health services were already overwhelmed with responding to the COVID-19 epidemic.
A conversation with Trinidadian Nneka Jones, the artist who created compelling American flag image for TIME magazine: Part II
"This hand embroidered flag was created with the intention of signifying optimism and hopes that we can all work together to build a brighter future."
A conversation with Trinidadian Nneka Jones, the artist who created compelling American flag image for TIME magazine: Part I
"We had decided that using the American flag would be the perfect symbolism as it is a reflection of everything happening in the nation currently."
From death in Syria to quarantine in Madrid
In Madrid, freedom is forbidden for your protection, and in Syria, the deprivation of freedom is designed to make you die a thousand deaths.
India’s Odia language added to Google and Microsoft translation services
Machine translation is a powerful tool to grow a language's digital presence.
The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the environment
"If suddenly, skies are more blue, and citizens breathe more freely, they realize a more healthy and sustainable life is within reach."
Disinformation about Belarus spreads in the Balkans via online portals and social media
Fact-checkers from Serbia and North Macedonia have been detecting and countering disinformation favoring the authoritarian regime in Belarus in the mold of previous propaganda narratives from pro-Kremlin troll armies.
Hong Kong police accused of rewriting history to oppress political dissent
Hong Kong police manipulates narratives of mob violence to accuse political opponents of disturbing the peace and arrest them despite multiple video proofs of their innocence
Venezuelan government stigmatizes and blames returned migrants for COVID-19 spread
“If I could go back to Venezuela, I’d hug my family. But it’s a dangerous road back home, and it’s even more dangerous once we get there”.
#JusticeForZaraAlvarez: Filipino activists protest worsening impunity under President Duterte
"Saddened by Zara Alvarez's murder in Bacolod. Her daughter is now an orphan. The communities she served as a health worker and human rights advocate are orphaned too."
‘Boca de Rua': The Brazilian newspaper produced entirely by people living on the street
Created in Porto Alegre almost 20 years ago, 'Boca de Rua' is the only member of the International Network of Street Papers entirely created by people living on the streets
President Bolsonaro flooded with questions on social media about unexplained deposits into his wife's bank account
Why, a reporter asked the Brazilian president, was nearly US$16,000 deposited into the bank account of Bolsonaro's wife, Michelle, by their long-time acquaintance Fabrício Queiroz?
Belarusian labour activists pressured as political crisis drags on
Growing labour unrest and strikes at key state-owned businesses have become a major challenge to embattled president Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The authorities have struck back with a pressure campaign against the workers involved.
Most Taiwanese unfazed by former president's fearmongering on war with China
Speaking at a conference on August 10, former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou said that, once China attacks Taiwan, “the first battle will be the last."
Collusion accusations grow between Haitian government and organised crime groups
"[...] The gang leaders are seemingly free from persecution so long as they help keep the peace in the neighborhoods they control."
Hiroshima Timeline project under fire for racism, fabricated history
An innovative project about the August 1945 bombing of Hiroshima has come under fire for using racist epithets to describe Koreans, political interference, and for potentially fabricating historical source material.
Reorienting Taiwan and Hong Kong: New avenues for building power
" ... Taiwanese theorist Wu Jieh-min once posed what seems in retrospect a rather utopian vision of activists in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China uniting to combat their shared enemy—the CCP."
Spain's scandal-hit former king leaves the country
Spaniards reacted on Twitter with the hashtag #RepúblicaYa or #GraciasMajestad
Why women’s rights and digital rights go hand-in-hand on Namibian Twitter
In Nambia, a Twitter campaign to legalize abortion drew waves of attacks against feminist activists, but as a result, parliament has agreed to discuss Nambia's outdated abortion laws.
