Stories from March, 2022
In São Paulo, Brazil, a new church opens every week
In the last decade, São Paulo saw a 34% increase in Evangelical churches — a new church opening every week on average. Agência Mural spoke to specialists to understand the movement and consider the impact.
Podcast: A crisis, a royal tour, and the pandemic's impact on disabled Latinas
Today we visit Jamaica and Sri Lanka, and then heard about Latinas in different parts of the world.
Climate justice for women’s rights
“Women are often the first to see the negative effects of climate change because they work with the soil and are dependent on it, especially outside cities.”
Opacity and a lack of debate mark Brazil's ratification of the Budapest Convention
Experts warn that the roll-out was problematic, not least because the treaty may put citizen data in general at risk and open the way to criminalizing the work of InfoSec researchers and activists.
Keeping fakes under control: how legislation on disinformation turns into a censorship tool
In some countries, the legislative initiatives that operate with the terms fake news and disinformation become the instruments of surveillance, the silencing of voices, and the fight against dissent.
Music in times of war: Song as a form of Ukrainian resistance
In Russia's invasion of Ukraine, culture and identity are at the center of the conflict. In this context, Ukrainian band "Okean Elzy" has stepped up to inspire the Ukrainian resistance.
Indonesian ground reports from Ukraine under Russian invasion
The Indonesian government has no immediate plan to cease its embassy's activities in Kyiv.
Threatened with deportation in Thailand, a Lao activist seeks asylum in Canada
Khoukham is among the founders of Free Laos, a network of Lao workers in Thailand pushing for human rights in their home country. Thai authorities were seeking to deport him.
Russian opposition leader Navalny calls for continued resistance after receiving 9-year sentence
On March 22, Navalny was sentenced to 9 years in a strict regime colony, where he will be kept isolated with communication with other prisoners and with the outside world.
An underground comic book displays the zeitgeist of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia
The comic book "Streetdog and Rat" ("Džukela i Pacof" in Macedonian) was published in October 2021. The author Matej Bogdanovski has given Global Voices permission to publish a segment translated into English.
‘Seh Yu Sorry!’ Royal visit to Jamaica sparks protests and calls for slavery reparations
"[Queen Elizabeth II] has done nothing to redress the suffering that took place during her reign [and] the entire period of British trafficking of Africans, enslavement, indentureship and colonialization."
How the Russia-Ukraine War is affecting U.S.-Venezuela relations
Facing oil shortages, the U.S. has, in all appearances, turned to the unlikeliest of partners.
Croatian citizens and businesses express support for Ukraine in various ways
Protest participants displayed Ukrainian and Croatian flags, shouted slogans and sung Ukrainian songs. The protest also featured banners with photographs comparing Donbas with the siege and bombardment of the Croatian city of Vukovar in 1991.
Turkey and Armenia inch closer to mending ties
The meeting was the first sit-down meeting between each country's foreign minister since 2009 and is part of mutual efforts to establish diplomatic ties which were severed in the early 1990s.
Not just the U.S.: Residente portrays all of America in ‘This is Not America’
With millions of views on Youtube, Puerto Rican rapper Residente makes a case for Latin America's struggle for human rights.
The geopolitics of disinformation and cybersecurity in Europe
Political and private sector experts were warning the EU to take more precautions against the kind of Russian cyber-attacks unleashed on Ukraine, amid concern that Russia could use them in response to EU sanctions.
In their own words: Latinas with disabilities explain leaving the house during the pandemic
Moving through the world as a blind woman is not the same as it was before the pandemic, from touching objects, to finding your way, to obtaining essential coronavirus information.
Shortages hit hard in Sri Lanka as citizens protest and the government seeks IMF bailout
Widespread shortages, such as fuel, gas, medicines, or even car parts triggered by higher prices and insufficient foreign currency for import are making everyday life miserable in Sri Lanka.
Taiwan: The happiest nation in East Asia, according to the 2022 World Happiness Report
"...the lesson of the World Happiness Report over the years is that social support, generosity to one another, and honesty in government are crucial for well-being."
Trinidad & Tobago celebrates double gold with two athletics victories
Javelin thrower Keshorn Walcott won gold in Atlanta, while sprinter Jereem Richards brought home gold in the Men's 400m event at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
Macedonian court sentences ringleaders of a sexual predators’ Telegram group to four years in prison
Civic organizations expressed deep dissatisfaction with the "Public Room" court case verdict, claiming it revealed that the punitive policies for sexual violence in North Macedonia are insufficient, inappropriate and incomplete.