As the world gets more homogenized and closely connected, geographic-specific languages risk vanishing — with one-third of languages having fewer than 1,000 speakers left. But tech can help.
Category: Society
The Librairie du Tiers monde, which has functioned as an important intellectual spot in Algeria since its founding in 1964, continues to have an open and critical outlook on the country, even at a time when power represses dissidents.
Many Japanese want to Games cancelled because of COVID risks.
Cuba’s dissident artists are challenging not just the communist state’s repression, but also its claim to be the socio-cultural guide for the nation.
The four million Syrians living in Turkey were already facing great difficulties, and the pandemic only made their lives more uncertain. But there’s another truth they know must face.
NEW DELHI — I had never given thought to the provenance of funeral wood, until news reports revealed in late April that officials in Delhi had begun receiving requests to chop trees in city parks amidst the colossal surge in COVID deaths. It was a jolting statement to encounter, for it forced me to reframe a life-giver into a death-enabler in ominously stripped, urgent terms. Wood, of course, had been used for cremation since ancient times, but to think of it as coming from our very midst instead of some sequestered supply-area bore a sting of abrasiveness. Would our public […]
Chicken waffles, mac and cheese, cornbread… these iconic African American dishes aren’t just trending on Netflix — they’re also making a name for themselves in the capital of haute cuisine.
There’s a bitter irony when an exhibit titled ‘Non-Freedom of Expression’ itself faces censorship.
In a majority of U.S. states, bills aiming to restrict who can compete in women’s sports at public institutions have either been signed into law or are working their way through state legislatures. Caught up in this political point-scoring are real people – both trans athletes who want to participate in competitive sports and those competing against them. As a professor of ethics and public policy, I spend much of my time thinking about the role of the law in protecting the rights of individuals, especially when the rights of some people appear to conflict with the rights of others. […]
Was this the last media ready to take on the regime in Bejing?
The name’s Cool, Vincent Cool. But there’s nothing cool about what just happened to this local French candidate and his running mate Florence Trévisan. On Sunday, the left-wing “Divers Gauche” pair came out on top of the first round of departmental elections, in the canton of Ribemont in northern France, with 37,25% of suffrages, in […]
Institutions tasked with training the next generation of business leaders are realizing that sustainability matters, and making significant adjustments to their curriculae.
The infamous (yet legal) Japanese criminal syndicate was already suffering under new laws when the pandemic hit. Now its business model is crumbling.
The pandemic has radically changed the way we manage hygiene in public spaces. Some new things are added, like hand sanitizer distributors at the entrance of shops; some are taken away, like holy water from the decorative font of your local church. But what if the former concept were applied to the latter? In Rennes, […]
The Euro 2021 Football competition is a reminder that European integration can take many forms.
The CCP is not used to sharing the decision-making role with the public, but that may be exactly what all sides need to try to encourage more Chinese people to have babies.
Pushed by a small but influential animal rights party in the Netherlands, the law could also ban keeping birds in cages and force farmers to widen pig pens and grazing areas.
It’s an economic dictum that virtually anything that is rare is bound to create a valuable market: diamonds, limited edition clothing and, in Japan, obese people. In a country where the obesity rate is among the world’s lowest — only 3.6% of the population is fat, compared to 27% in Australia — a Japanese company […]
Much has been said about China’s use of biometric technology for mass civilian surveillance. But facial recognition is being used elsewhere too, and not always as a tool for crime prevention.
“Preheat oven to 250 °C, add three teaspoons of salt into water, rinse and peel the asparagus and wait 30 minutes before cooking…” If you are craving asparagus au gratin after reading these lines, you can find the rest of the recipe online, on any number of cooking websites … Or, until a few days […]
At 3,304 and counting, the list of officially recognized emojis includes more than just happy faces, hearts and clinking beer mugs. With certain icons there are politics at play, and even questions about regional pride and sovereignty, as lawmakers in the Canadian province of Quebec made clear in recent days. For now, there is no […]
Friends, colleagues, countrymen: After many long months of distancing, masks, quarantine, curfews and telecommuting, it’s time to get back together. Yet re-socializing isn’t as simple as it seems.
Staying updated with the news has become a way to pass time, but there are real effects on the health of the polity.
Holger Allmenroeder is a Catholic priest who is also openly gay. He supports gay and lesbian people, divorcees and those who have remarried. Traditionalists may find him alienating but his masses are well attended. Is he the future of the Church?
You’ve heard of NSFW (Not Safe for Work), but what about NSFH (Not Safe for Hospitals)?
Bars and restaurants are finally able to receive customers, at least for outdoor service. It’s a welcome shift for a weary population that is still, nevertheless, wary about the lingering pandemic.
A recent spousal killing in El Kef demonstrates how vulnerable Tunisian women remain despite the introduction, four years ago, of a law specifically designed to protect them.
MEXICO CITY — Crime in Mexico related to gangs and drug cartels is believed to have shortened the lifespan of the country’s residents, according to a new study. The National Police report has found that life expectancy fell by one to six months in the five-year period beginning in 2005, as a veritable war began […]
A unique project in the Italian capital brings together experienced carpenters to share their skills and knowledge with asylum seekers and the unemployed.
Busted for hanging anti-government posters, 15-year-old Nikita has been jailed for almost a year on charges of ‘terrorism,’ and has yet to even go to trial.
To celebrate Bob’s 80th birthday, a sampling of his songs sung from every corner of the planet.
PARIS — Getting your driver’s license in France is no small feat. Endless hours of studying the holy “code de la route” for a tricky written exam, followed by a minimum of 20 hours of mandatory driving lessons before the road test. And high rates of failing marks all around. But for one teenager near […]
Poles are divided into hostile tribes. Radicalization is on the rise, and institutions do little to support those trying to tame it.
Proposed Italian legislation to punish public acts of homophobia continues to be blocked by both the Catholic Church and right-wing politicians. But the country’s most popular rapper has entered the debate.
Die Welt journalist Peter Huth argues that those who can’t catch COVID-19 should not be subject to any more virus rules and restrictions, and allowed to return to normal life.
If we know that greed is one of the seven deadly sins, what about lust for German cars? A Lisbon priest has received a four-and-a-half-year suspended jail sentence for aggravated breach of trust and embezzlement, having taken his parishioners’ money to buy no fewer than 19 automobiles. Although Antònio Teixeira is known among his flock […]
TEHRAN — An Iranian man who divorced his first wife over her “secretive” use of Instagram is now ending his second marriage for the same reason. Tehran-based Shargh daily cited the anonymous man from an unnamed city as admitting he had a “good life” with his first wife, until he found she was on Instagram […]
There’s croissants and cheese, bérets and Brigitte Bardot — and then there’s pétanque. On the list of the Frenchest things, this national pastime ranks pretty high, conjuring up scenes of convivial apéros where old and young gather together, a boule in one hand and a glass of pastis or rosé in the other. What shock […]
On this subtropical island, Chien-hao Chen fought typhoons and monsoons to develop his vineyards — and to produce wines admired by some of the most important oenologists.
She looked into his eyes, he shoved a q-tip up her nose, and they may live happily ever after.