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Jamaica’s COVID-19 vaccination blitz administers 75,000 doses just before expiry date
COVID-19 immunisations begin. Photo by Province of British Columbia on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. On April 13, Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, was pleased to announce in parliament that the shipment of 75,000 shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine received a few days earlier had been swiftly delivered into citizens’ arms. This island-wide vaccination effort, referred to as a blitz, was done in an effort “to use as many of the doses as possible.” The vaccines, a gift from the government of South Africa that was supplied through the Africa Medical Supplies Platform, arrived on April 8, just tw...
Global Voices
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Thailand’s draft NGO law threatens to undermine the work of civil society groups
Civil society groups and environment advocates holding a protest action in Thailand. Photo from Facebook page of Prachatai, content partner of Global Voices. The Thai government has drafted a law on non-government organizations (NGO) which human rights groups have condemned as containing provisions that could be used to harass activists and leaders of civil society groups. The Office of the Council of State released the Draft Act on the Operations of Not-for-Profit Organizations in February, and conducted a public consultation on it between March 12 and 31. If passed into law, NGOs will be req...
Global Voices
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Rhino population climbs in Nepal thanks to collaboration, conservation and community
A greater one-horned rhino in the Chitwan National Park in south-central Nepal. Image by the author. Nepal's 2021 rhino census, taken for the first time in six years, has put the figure at 752 individuals – an increase of 107, with 694 rhinos in Chitwan National Park, 38 in Bardia National Park, 17 in Shuklaphanta National Park and three in Parsa National Park. Just a few decades ago, the country's rhino population had been drastically reduced as a result of poaching and habitat degradation. However, anti-poaching and conservation initiatives from the Nepalese government have helped increase n...
Global Voices
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Herself a victim of cyberbullying, Lindsey Kukunda fights online violence against women in Uganda
Ugandan activist, Lindsey Kukunda. Image used with her permission. Women journalists, feminists, activists, and human rights defenders around the world are facing virtual harassment. In this series, global civil society alliance CIVICUS highlights the gendered nature of virtual harassment through the stories of women working to defend our democratic freedoms. These testimonies are published here through a partnership between CIVICUS and Global Voices. A volatile election in Uganda in January led to President Yoweri Museveni gaining a sixth term in office. In the lead-up to the vote, opposition...
Global Voices
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St. Vincent's La Soufrière blows off more steam on 42nd anniversary of last major eruption
The La Soufrière volcano crater in St. Vincent. Photo by Dave Brown on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. At about 6:30 am (GMT-4) on April 13, La Soufrière, a stratovolcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, exploded once again after its most recent series of eruptions began on April 9. While the volcano's activity has remained consistent over the past four days, both official sources and regular netizens have taken note of this most recent explosion on the island of St. Vincent, since the date marks the 42nd anniversary of La Soufrière's last major eruption in 1979: 42 years to the day that it erupt...
Global Voices
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Nepali migrant worker goes home after spending 40 years in the Indian prison system
Durga Prasad Timsina with his mother. Screenshot from a video uploaded to YouTube by OnlineKhabar. Nepal's Durga Prasad Timsina, also known as Dipak Jaisi, was released from the Dum Dum Central Correctional Home in Kolkata, India, 40 years after he was put in jail. The 61-year-old spent four decades without trial in different prisons in India for a crime for which there was no solid proof and which he said he did not commit. He was freed on parole and reunited with his family in Lumbak, in the eastern region of Nepal on March 21. Timsina was 20 years old when he migrated to Darjeeling, India, ...
Global Voices
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The longer La Soufrière's activity lasts, the more dire St. Vincent's situation becomes
Hardened lava flow from St. Vincent's La Soufrière volcano, taken in 2009. Photo by Dave Brown on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Three days after St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ La Soufrière erupted, activity at the volcano is still intense, with the lingering fallout affecting not only the country itself, but many of its Caribbean neighbours. At 4:15 (GMT-4) on the morning of April 12, the island experienced the volcano's biggest explosion yet, accompanied by pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), known for being one of the most dangerous aspects of a volcanic eruption, as the hot emissions of ash an...
Global Voices
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Should there be Shona-language versions of Google and social media sites? This Zimbawean technologist says yes
Traditional dancers and drummers of Zimbabwe. Image by TJ Maposhere via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Editor's note: From April 13-19 2021, Blessing Sibanda will be hosting the @DigiAfricanLang rotating Twitter account, which explores how technology can be used to revitalize African languages. Read more about the campaign here. Shona, an official language of Zimbabwe, is one of the most spoken Bantu languages, with an estimated 10.8 million speakers. But while there are a number of established historical and literary resources in Shona, the visibility of the language online is far from enc...
Global Voices
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Myanmar crackdown intensifies as air strikes lead to more killings and displacement
Anti-coup protesters hold a banner calling for the restoration of civilian rule in Myanmar. Photo by author. This article originally appeared on Medium and was written by a blogger who doesn't wish to be identified. An edited version is published here. Note: This article contains disturbing images of violence. Throughout March 2021, Myanmar’s military regime continued its brutal suppression of civilian movements that were calling for the restoration of democracy in the country since the military coup of February 1. Since February, protests across the country have been challenging the military ...
Global Voices
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Hongkong Customs raids pro-democracy retail chain, sparking sympathy
Long queues outside AbouThai after Customs raid. Image from the Stand News. Use with permission. Hong Kong Customs deployed around 100 officers to raid and seize goods from retail chain, AbouThai, on 8 of April, citing a violation of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance for inadequate labelling on 14 product types. AbouThai is owned by Mike Lam, a pro-democracy businessman who started his retail business in 2015. He was fired by the Hong Kong Customs after he appeared on TV in a protest against mainland Chinese parallel traders who took advantage of multiple visas to import goods from Hong Kong...
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