International Focus Newsletter

Catalonia Bans Bullfighting In Landmark Spain Vote
The parliament of Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting - the first region of mainland Spain to do so.

The vote took place as a result of a petition brought to parliament, signed by 180,000 people who say the practice is barbaric and outdated. Read the full article...

New Nicaraguan Sign Language Shows How Language Affects Thought
In the 1970s, a group of deaf Nicaraguan schoolchildren invented a new language. The kids were the first to enroll in Nicaragua's new wave of special education schools.

It was the first time that deaf people from all over the country could gather in large numbers and through their interactions Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL) spontaneously came into being.

Ever since, NSL has been a goldmine for scientists, providing an unparalleled opportunity to study the emergence of a new language. And in a new study led by Jennie Pyers from Wellesley College, it even tells us how language shapes our thought. Read the full article. . .

Science Historian Cracks "the Plato Code"
A Science Historian at the University of Manchester has cracked "the Plato Code" - the long disputed secret messages hidden in the great philosopher's writings.

Dr. Kennedy, whose findings are featured in the leading US journal Apeiron, reveals that Plato used a regular pattern of symbols, inherited from the ancient followers of Pythagoras, to give his book a musical structure. A century earlier, Pythagoras has declared that the planets and stars made an inaudible music, a "harmony of the spheres". Plato imitated this hidden music in his books. Read the full article...

Female Imams Blaze Trail Amid China's Muslims
China has an estimated 21 million Muslims, who have developed their own set of Islamic practices with Chinese characteristics. The biggest difference is the development of independent women's mosques with female imams, something scholars who have researched the issue say is unique to China. Read the full article...

Army Prepares Historic Language Surge
As U.S. forces are drawing down in Iraq, President Obama has increased the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan, ordering a surge of 30,000 additional troops for the 9-year mission there.

Col. Danial Pick, Commandant of the Defense Language Institute told Federal News Radio every single one of those troops will have some basic knowledge of the language and the culture before their boots hit the ground, in military history's largest undertaking of its kind. Read the full article...

Cockney Accent Moves Out Of London
Cockney in the East End is now transforming itself into multicultural London English, a new melting-pot mixture of all those people living here who learned English as a second language.

The new dialect, termed "Jafaican" in slang, or "slanguage," is a hybrid of various languages and accents, created as a result of mass immigration and demographic changes in London's East End, the traditional Cockney heartland. Read the full article...

EU Citizens Win Right To Translation

The European Parliament has adopted a new law to ensure anyone facing charges in an EU country is given access to an interpreter and translation of documents. The directive was adopted by the European Parliament by 637 votes to 21, with 19 abstentions.

Read the full article...