In an effort to recognize our writers and translators and be more transparent about our readership each month, we are continuing our Stats4Community series, where we share monthly updates about our most popular stories. We will also be highlighting the top Lingua posts for different languages to showcase the linguistic diversity across the GV community. This month's stories are from our English, Portugese, Bangla, and Spanish sites.

Our English site saw over 271,741 viewers in May. All statistics here are drawn from Google Analytics and do not necessarily represent the total number of views due to adblockers and other privacy settings.

Bangla

যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের নতুন বিকল্প প্রস্তাবে চীনের বন্ধনী ও সড়ক উদ্যোগ কৌশল পুনর্বিবেচনা বাংলাদেশের (Bangladesh reconsiders China's belt and road initiative strategy in US's new alternative proposal)

This piece from 2023 discusses Bangladesh’s shifting strategy regarding China’s Belt and Road Initiative project — China’s megadevelopment cross-regional infrastructure project. Bangladesh canceled numerous contracts for BRI development projects out of concern that the project had left numerous other countries in a debt trap. Many countries have cooled on the once-lauded infrastructure project as countless investments have turned out badly for both the host country and China, as the partner country could not pay, and China was forced to forgive huge amounts of debt with little to no return. (9,100+ views)

Portuguese

Angola: O Alambamento e os Rituais do Casamento

In Angola, there is a quite strong cultural tradition of asking for the hand of the bride in marriage, called “alambamento.” Considered by some more important than the civil or religious (Christian) marriage, the alambamento consists of a series of rituals, like the delivery of a letter with the request for the hand of the bride, which sometimes comes with money. This discussion of marriage practices in Angola was first published in 2010 and routinely gets thousands of views, indicating the lasting curiosity in Angolan marriage rituals. (2,936+ views)

English

Yerba mate: South America’s Indigenous tea, from Paraguay to Syria

Yerba mate — a slightly bitter infusion of caffeinated leaves from a dried gourd through a filtered metal straw — is an iconic and incredibly popular brew throughout South America. In an interesting twist of fate, however, the mate market was destined for expansion into an unexpected region: the Levant region of the Middle East, namely Lebanon, and Syria. (2,287+ views)

Portuguese 

Um ritual de proteção para “fechar o corpo” liga tradições religiosas diferentes no Brasil (A Protection Ritual to ‘Close the Body’ Links Different Religious Traditions in Brazil)

In this piece from 2016, Adam Lee discusses how an Afro-Caribbean ritual connects people across religions and backgrounds in Brazil. The “closing of the body” ritual is supposed to ward off evil and is practiced among Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda, as well as some Catholic denominations. (1,321+ views)

English

Turkey joins the ranks of countries considering a foreign agent law

Turkey, following in the footsteps of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, and Georgia to name a few, is considering adopting its own version of the controversial foreign agent law. The package includes a legislative amendment that would introduce criminal penalties for what it calls “foreign influence agents” by expanding the definitions of “espionage” and “spying.” Critics and rights watchdogs say the proposal targets free expression and is simply another legal excuse for the government to target civil society and the public. (1,161+ views)

English

South Asia sizzles: Record heatwave and extreme weather blamed on climate crisis

For over a month, South Asia, including, Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, saw record-breaking heat that sizzled the region, led to countless deaths and injuries, and highlighted the stark future of the region amid the climate crisis. Temperatures soared to as high as 48 degrees Celcius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in some places, raising concerns about how the region — particularly the poor and unhoused — can grapple with rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather events. (1,068+ views)

English

Did the president of North Macedonia violate an international agreement?

The new president of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska Davkova stirred controversy on her first day in office after she failed to utter the constitutional name of the state, the Republic of North Macedonia, during her inauguration on May 12, 2024. Because the region is rife with territorial disputes and tension, making is considered a major issue in the Balkans. Some leaders in the region consider this slip-up a violation of the Prespa Agreement, which was concluded with United Nations mediation in 2018, ending North Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece which lasted 28 years. (1,015+ views)

Spanish

D Billions, grupo de Kirguirstán que causa furor en YouTube, inicia su gira mundial (Kyrgyzstan's YouTube sensation, D Billions, kicks off its global concert tour)

This story talks about D Billions, a Kyrgyz music group that makes educational songs for children. The group has gathered millions of views on YouTube with their catchy songs, including “Left, Right” and “Yummy, Yummy Fruits and Vegetables.” On June 9, 2023, they kicked off their global concert tour and have steadily been gaining global acclaim since then. (983+ views)