Stories from January, 2017
A Legislative Proposal in Mexico Would Tie Political Parties’ Funding to Voter Turnout
"Cutting back where we should: public funding of parties so that it's linked to the vote and not the register."
Building a Sustainable, Open-Source Platform for Language Learning
Openwords is a open-source language-learning app with robust lesson and course development features with the aim to be a community of language learners and teachers.
Notes From the Eye of the Crowd
As demonstrations break out against President Trump's executive orders, ordinary people feel their way toward protest.
Meet ‘VKgoeswild,’ Ukraine's Classical Pianist-Turned Rocker
Despite winning numerous awards at international classical piano competitions and training with some of the biggest names in classical music, Viktoriya Yermolyeva decided to tackle another kind of music: rock.
Algerian Blogger Merzoug Touati Could Face 25 Years in Jail for Interviewing an Israeli Official on YouTube
The interview focuses on Algerian government accusations that foreign powers stoked protests against austerity measures in the country. Blogger Merzoug Touati is charged with "exchanging intelligence with a foreign power."
The Executive Order on Immigration Wants You To Think Gaining Legal Entry to the US Is Easy
In reality, it's damned hard.
Tabloid Tells Abusers How to Exploit Russia's Decriminalization of Domestic Violence
The pro-Kremlin tabloid “Life” shared a bizarre video, titled “He Beats You Because He Loves You,” reviewing the “top five ways to commit domestic violence” and get away with it.
Language Legends Help Create a Colorful Snapshot of Australia's Linguistic Diversity
"Language work is the best thing I can do. Who wants to go out and do other things, when I can be saving our languages?"
Protests, Deportations and Uncertainty: Iranians Ensnared by Trump's Immigration Ban
"My timeline is full of stories of people impacted by #Trump’s order. They are in shock & can’t believe it."
Myanmar Activists Say Junta-Era Defamation Law Must Go
"It is not appropriate that a citizen who criticises someone more powerful should face legal action of this kind."
Journalists of Closed Hungarian Newspaper Népszabadság Score ‘Symbolic Posthumous Victory’ in Court
A Hungarian court has ruled that last October's sudden closure of the country's leading opposition daily, Népszabadság, was illegal.
‘Operation Restore Democracy’ Raises Hopes and Demands Across Africa
Energized by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's ouster, Africans are now criticizing many of the region's international groups for failing to remove other “dictators.”
Melania Trump Returns Gloriously to Her Homeland, Now as a Meme
During the U.S. presidential campaign, Slovenians didn't show much interest in Mrs. Trump. That changed, however, after Donald Trump's surprising victory in the Electoral College
Originally Sentenced to Death, a Blogger Goes Before Mauritania's Supreme Court
In 2014, Ould Mkhaitir was arrested and convicted of "apostasy" over an opinion article in which he addressed Mauritania's discriminatory caste system.
United Colors of Persecution: The Struggle of Patagonia's Indigenous People against Benetton
Against a backdrop of legal complexities and state repression, a Mapuche community in Patagonia is fighting against the Italian textile giant Benetton to regain ownership of their ancestral lands.
Passenger Says Anti-Arab Racism, Not ‘Fake Bomb Threat’ Led to Madrid-Berlin Flight's Cancellation
The eyewitness told Global Voices that a German-speaking passenger on the Iberia flight called a fellow Lebanese passenger, who was sending text messages in Arabic, a "terrorist."
The Jallikattu Protests in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu Are Not Merely About a Bullfight
"People finally have become bulls to reaffirm their self-respect, determination and identity."
The Difficult Work of Building an Inclusive, Women-Led Coalition to Resist Trump
"If you want to know if you are going the right way follow women of color, brothers and sisters."
The Day Bangkok and Other Thai Provinces Turned Green on Google Maps
"When did we get so many forests in Bangkok?", asked a Twitter user.
A Russian Pilot Fights to Keep His Aging Aircraft From the Scrapheap
Alexander Poddubny has taken extraordinary measures to keep his Ilyushin Il-14 from the scrapheap, and now he's drowning in debt for his efforts.
Russian Political Prisoner Ildar Dadin Files Request to Move Prisons
"Are there really no colonies closer to Moscow?" Dadin's wife asked Russia's State Penitentiary Service.
