A few months before August, when elections will be held to choose a new President, freedom of expression is increasingly in danger in Angola. According to the US State Department’s Human Rights 2021 report, published in 2022, Angola is experiencing moments marked by illegal or arbitrary executions, forced disappearances, inhuman treatment, and restrictions on press freedom. It should also be noted that after successive protests by activists and opposition parties against the new electoral law, new demonstrations took place once again in the capital Luanda. However, as has been recurrent on other occasions, the police prohibited the demonstration on 9 April from taking place and arrested some of the activists in the past.

Written by Global Voices Lusofonia Translated by Dércio Tsandzana on 9th May 2022.

Srilanka is a neighbor country of India and anything that happens over there also reflects the situation in India. There are many aspects that will impact India directly and some indirectly.  Some of the consequences of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis are quite vulnerable from the point of view of India and some of them are favorable for India.

Sri Lanka is fighting some serious economic problems and the whole country is running out of resources. If we understand the reason behind this situation then we’ll find that it was a complete failure of the Sri Lankan government and administration. The government of Gotabaya Rajapaksa took some foolish steps which were revolutionary according to them and ended up putting the whole country in tough times

In Sri Lanka, some news stories suggest that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa may step down, although it seems improbable that this in itself would put an end to the protests. Another report claims that the opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has been invited to take the post, although he wishes to consult other parliamentarians before deciding. If the president remains in power, there may be widespread scepticism about any changes at the top.

The snippet is taken from the article which was first published on globalvoices.org on May 9th 2022.

Nothing could be more symbolic of Nepal’s goal of being net-zero in energy by 2045 than the sight on New Year’s day on Thursday, April 14, 2022, as three new Chinese electric buses drove past a hydroelectric plant and a solar panel array on the Bhote Kosi River.

The three buses are the first of 40 battery-powered buses ordered by the Sajha Yatayat cooperative public transport service from China. They will be running on renewable energy generated by power plants like the 45MW Upper Bhote Kosi hydroelectric project along the Arniko Highway in Phulping Katti, Central Nepal to the Chinese border.

The Article is by Nepali Times and was first published on global voices on 24th April 2022

Communal clashes between right-wing Hindu supremacist groups and the minority Muslim community have been reported across India at two recent Hindu festivals within a week.

The first time was on the occasion of Ram Navami on April 10, when clashes were reported in Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Bihar. More clashes were reported on Saturday, April 16, at Hanuman Jayanti from Kurnool, Haridwar, and the Jahangirpuri area in India’s capital, New Delhi.

Ram Navami is an important Hindu festival that is traditionally observed by fasting and culminates on the ninth day, the birth of Lord Ram, one of the most significant Hindu deities. Devotees offer prayers and rituals at temples, sing devotional songs, and conduct rituals and chariot processions at home and at the community level. However, there is a century-old history of violent processions and using these Hindu religious occasions as opportunities to galvanise Hindus, instigate hate and assert Hindu supremacy.

The Article is by Sanjukta and was first published in Global Voices on 25th April 2022 (Stynd is a content-partner of  Global Voices and has no control and responsibility of the content in the article)

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, acquired Twitter in a US$44 billion deal on April 25, 2022, 11 days after announcing his bid for the company. Twitter announced that the public company will become privately held after the acquisition is complete.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for his initial bid for the company, Musk stated, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”

As a researcher of social media platforms, I find that Musk’s ownership of Twitter and his stated reasons for buying the company raise important issues. Those issues stem from the nature of the social media platform and what sets it apart from others.

The Article was first published in The Conversation on 26th April 2022.

On Wednesday, Indian steel giant, Tata Steel announced that it was cutting all business ties with Russia. This made Tata Steel the latest multi-national company to stop business with Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A spokesperson from the company’s European division, Tata Steel Europe, said in a statement that it “does not have any operations or employees in Russia”.

The company added, its steel manufacturing units in India, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands had arranged for raw materials to be sourced from elsewhere ending its dependence on Russia.

The Article was first published in Wikinews.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, nations across Europe rose to respond to the crisis, raising questions, not only about its consequences for the affected countries and beyond but also about various implications around disinformation and digital rights. As technology has progressed rapidly over the years, resulting in a digital revolution, a number of security experts concluded that certain advancements could lead to “hybrid wars” in which cyberweapons and disinformation may become a type of weapon in psychological warfare around the globe. Similarly, the current pandemic has been accompanied by a so-called “infodemic” as well. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the practices of information that influence our everyday lives, as an essential part of maintaining the world’s security and stability.

------

The article is by Rafaela Landikusic and was first published on globalvoices.org on March 22nd, 2022.

Reports yesterday indicated Ukraine has recaptured territory including Irpin, a suburb of capital city Kyiv, from Russian invading forces ahead of scheduled peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey later today. Mayor of Irpin Alexandar Markushin said: "We have good news today — Irpin has been liberated", but told residents who had fled it was too soon to return as fighting was ongoing. Trostianets in the north-east near the border with Russia, was also reported to be back under Ukrainian control, according to a senior United States defense official who spoke anonymously with the Associated Press.

---

The article you listened was first published on Wikinews on Tuesday, March 29, 2022