Stories from 19 April 2023
Burnt flags, border clashes, and prisoners: Tensions continue to escalate in Armenia and Azerbaijan
Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan soared when a man stormed the stage at the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan and set fire to the Azerbaijani flag.
Ukrainians boost resilience and spread laughs with wartime memes
"When aspirations, opinions, values of a number of people correspond, they create a meme. Often, it is something nice, likable, cozy, childhood-reminiscent which could comfort, at least for a while."
Why tech companies can no longer ignore their role in shaping politics and society
As the influence of tech companies continues to grow, it falls to civil society, journalists, tech users, and watchdog organisations to keep these firms accountable.
State violence and the standardization of the Chinese language
After implementing compulsory education in 1986, Putonghua was promulgated as the primary language in schools, and recently it has replaced indigenous languages in autonomous regions, including Xinjiang, inner Mongolia and Tibet.