The Beit al-Ajaib, or House of Wonders — the palatial home of Omani sultans in Stone Town, Zanzibar — partially collapsed on December 25, according to video footage and photographs circulated widely online. The collapse reportedly killed two people and injured several others. صور چوية تظهر حجم الدمار الكبير الذي لحقContinue Reading
Russia’s linguistic diversity is as expansive as the country itself. One language grouping represented in Russia is the Uralic languages, whose name comes from the Ural mountains, located in Central Russia at the geographic border between Europe and Asia. They include 38 languages, most of them spoken in the eponymousContinue Reading
The following story was originally published in Chinese on Stand News. It was translated into English by Global Voices and will be published here, with permission, in five different parts. Part One of the series follows. Between August 29 and September 1, Stand News asked its readers in Hong Kong,Continue Reading
For the people of Slavyansk, “How do you live here?” is not an uncommon question. Given the tragedies this eastern Ukrainian city has endured — economic collapse and occupation by pro-Russia separatists in 2014 — you can’t blame those who ask it. But that they still do so in 2020 betrays someContinue Reading
Myanmar election monitors have been identifying the use of religious-nationalist messaging by major parties and candidates in the lead up to the November 8 elections. The Union Election Commission’s Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Candidates clearly states that race and religious-based campaign messages are prohibited. Nevertheless, party candidates haveContinue Reading
Prior to former United States President Donald Trump’s departure on January 20, his administration made several efforts to “lock in” certain controversial policies, including additional immigration restrictions. The move that has raised the ire of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), however, is the Trump government’s decision to put Cuba back onContinue Reading
Earlier this month, the financial world was shocked by the sudden suspension of Ant Group’s initial public offering (IPO), set to debut on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock market on November 2. With 34 billion USD in proceeds, it would have been the world’s biggest stock debut in history.Continue Reading
It comes as no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the crisis of the news industry, long affected by losses in advertising revenue and in a desperate search for a sustainable business model. This year, many newsrooms have had to cut costs to survive, and that usually means lettingContinue Reading
Popular hits are often associated with a specific moment in time, and the concept of vintage, or retro, music has become—thanks to social media—a culture of its own. This is also true for the Soviet musical heritage, and to find out more about its fans, I spoke to Hamdam Zakirov,Continue Reading
Like in most parts of the world in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the way Christmas was celebrated in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines. Amid fears of a new surge of transmissions during the holiday festivities, the Rodrigo Duterte government continued to keep the country under quarantine—already one of theContinue Reading