Stories about English from July, 2015
Preserving Historic Thai Films
The Thai Film Archive has been uploading historic films and vintage news reports on YouTube. One of the films is Chok Song Chun (Double Luck), which is Thailand's first feature silent film produced in 1927. Only 55 seconds of the film have remained featuring a fight scene and car chase....
Palestinian Baby Burned to Death in West Bank Settler Attack
Israeli settlers have torched two homes in Douma, in the Occupied West Bank, leaving one baby dead and three civilians, including one child, severely injured.
Calls to #StopEvictions as Pakistani Authorities Bulldoze Slums
"Hey CDA: The children’s library in #Islamabad has been occupied by a religious seminary 4 yrs. Would you evict those illegal occupants too?"
Court Fines the Taiwan Immigration Authority for the Denied Entry of a Foreign Visitor Ahead Anti-nuclear Protest
Two years ago in March 2013, Daniel Andres Helmdach was detained and deported from Taiwan because the immigration suspected that he visited the country to join the anti-nuclear protest. The German youth had done nothing illegal in Taiwan before, he merely worked as a volunteer on conversation projects back in...
“Ethiopians Should Not Wait for Obama to Give Them Democracy”
"The united hands of our people are stronger than that of Western world! Let us do that and reign the democracy we are longing for!"
‘Drunk and Half-Naked’ Russian Soldiers Take a Beating in Tajikistan
'We are kindly asking the Kulob police not to prosecute the local lions who defended our honor and culture and fought these Russian drunks.'
So the Caribbean Walks Into a Bar…
#IfTheCaribbeanWasABar is trending in the regional blogosphere, bringing up issues of shared territory and identity in hilarious and illuminating ways.
How China's Online Civilization Army Turned a Youth Street Fight into a Patriotic Struggle
"They just pick quarrels and fights all day long. Today vow to execute this and tomorrow execute someone else. Such patriotism is not loving one's country but hating one's country."
Battle of the Hashtags in Lead-up to Trinidad & Tobago's General Elections
The sparring match between Trinidad and Tobago's two main political parties on the eve of the country's general election has been duly hashtagged.
Africans Take Jabs at One Another With #IfAfricaWasABar Hashtag
"If Africa was a bar, what would your country be drinking/doing?," Siyanda- Panda, a writer from Botswana, asked on Twitter.
To Ululate or Not to Ululate for President Obama? Kenyans Are Asking That Question
The art of ululation is very common in African culture. Was a Kenyan TV host who ululated while welcoming Obama being unprofessional?
Funny Cartoons Illustrate People's Concerns as Election Draws Near in Myanmar
Political cartoons about erroneous voters' lists, pre-election campaigning, military rule, and the president's desire to serve a second term have been widely shared on Facebook.
Eiffel Tower Plans? Beware of the ‘Paris Syndrome’
The City of Lights can be both appealing and anxiety-inducing. Here are how some visitors, notably the Japanese, have experienced the city and the feedback from Parisians.
Russian Censors Threaten to Shut Down Business Website for Writing About Bitcoin
Officials today told a Russian business-news website that it must delete or edit within the next three days an article it published about bitcoins.
Russia to Web Anonymizers: Shut Up and Go Away
Russian censors are now officially adding anonymizing websites to their blacklist registry, on the grounds they enable access to extremist content that is already blocked in Russia.
Conspiracy Theory Blaming China's Stock Market Plunge on Foreign Forces Finds Online Support
Lin Zuoming, chairman of a state-owned aerospace and defense company called China Aviation Industry Corp., echoed the theory of foreign manipulation "aimed at breaking people’s faith in government."
Taiwanese High School Students Arrested After Protesting New Textbook Guidelines
Thirty high-school students and three reporters were arrested for entering the Ministry of Education to protest against new textbook guidelines that tell Taiwan's history from a greater Chinese perspective.
How To Miss A Coup d'Etat
The July 27, 1990 attempted coup is Trinidad and Tobago's "Where were you when JFK was shot?" moment. But what if you weren't in the country at the time?
Saudi Woman Dies After Her Daughter Is Rejected From University
A grief-struck Saudi mother literally dropped dead at The University of Tabuk campus which refused to admit her daughter into its medical school. Netizens react to the news with alarm.
Scroll Through Madagascar History Via Vintage Photographs
Access to the visual history of most former colonial countries in Africa is usually a challenging proposition because former colonial powers restrict access to historical archives. Helihanta RAJAONARISON and Tsiry Fy-Tia SOLOFOMIHANTA in Madagascar sought to solve this issue and make the history of Madagascar more palatable to the general...
Greece Crisis Propelling Some Ethnic Greeks Back to Their Homeland on a Turkish Island
Greeks and Turks share a love and pride for the beautiful island called Gökçeada by the former and Imbros by the latter.