· July, 2011

Stories about Breaking News from July, 2011

Mozambique: Political Rapper Arrested

  31 July 2011

Mozambicans are reacting to what appears to have been the arrest yesterday of controversial and talented MC Azagaia. While there is no official news, some of his 4,600+ fans showed their support on Facebook and have created a “Free Azagaia” event. The rapper was questioned in 2008 by police, who...

Colombia: FIFA's U-20 World Cup

  30 July 2011

Colombia is hosting the U-20 FIFA World Cup. The opening ceremony [es] took place in Barranquilla on July 29. The country is in a happy mood and on Twitter netizens talk about the tournament with the hashtag #Colombiaesmundial.

South Korea: 35 Million Users’ Information Leaked in Cyber Attack

  29 July 2011

Thirty-five million Koreans’ information stored in the South Korean portal site Nate and Cyworld, was hacked in cyber attack from China. One net user from Daum Agora website blamed [ko] Nate's default setting in checking emails- reading the emails without preview function- for involuntarily opening doors to mass hacker attacks.

South Korea: 41 Dead in Torrential Flooding and Landslides

  28 July 2011

Torrential rain has battered South Korea for several consecutive days, causing landslides, flooding and power cuts. At least 41 people have been killed and 12 people are still missing. Throughout the disaster, South Koreans have shared updated stories, photos and useful tips for those affected via Twitter.

Lebanon: Maritime Dispute with Israel Escalates

Hezballah leader Hassan Nasrallah has exclaimed that God had given Lebanon an opportunity to rid itself of a crippling debt, and become a "rich country" by providing it lucrative offshore oil and gas reserves. However, the reserves potentially lie in a disputed maritime border zone with Israel.

Estonia: Tower of Babel

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa discusses how Estonia – contrary to preconceptions – is very much of a multilingual country, not least because of tourism but also in daily practicalities.

South Korea: Tweet Photos of Downpour

  27 July 2011

Heavy downpour battered South Korea yesterday, causing flooding and property damage even in one of the wealthiest parts of Seoul. Wiki Tree consolidated photos of downpour Twitterers have sent.

Norway: Courtroom Doors Will be Closed

  25 July 2011

More than 70,000 people joined a Facebook event over the weekend advocating for the first court hearing of mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik on Monday, July 25, 2011 to be held behind closed doors. Today it was confirmed [no] that no press or members of the public will attend. Breivik does...

Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist

  25 July 2011

Thoma Roche of Techyum blog posted an analysis entitled ‘Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist’. The fact that the terrorist pinpointed Japan and South Korea as clear examples of countries that consistently and directly dismissed multiculturalism has drawn various responses in South Korea.

China: Outrage at High-Speed Train Crash

  24 July 2011

A collision between two high-speed trains in China in the evening of July 23 killed at least 35 people and injured over 200. C. Custer at ChinaGeeks has written about the government's cover-ups of the tragedy and railway safety issues, and the outrages that are pouring in China's online community.

Russia: Online Effort to Discredit Environmentalists Exposed

Suren Gazaryan, Russian environmentalist, publishes [ru] the scan of the document that describes the strategy of discrediting local environmentalist organizations protesting against the development of the Tuapse oil terminal. The “plan” includes prices for the paid posts in the blogs, forums, media outlets, as well as a list of possible...

Peru: Transportation Strike in Lima: A Campaign Against the Mayor?

  15 July 2011

The mayor of Lima, Susana Villarán, has experienced an outpour of all kinds criticism at the six month mark of her term. A strike by transportation carriers on July 13 is the Mayor's most recent challenge. Bloggers and Twitter users shared reactions, reports, images and analysis throughout the day of the strike.

Belarus: Vkontakte Social Network Blocked by the Providers

Update: Access to the Vkontake site is now restored. Vkontakte, Russian social network, is unavailable for Belarus Internet Users. The network hosts “Revolution Through the Social Network” [ru] group used to organize non-violent protests, telegraf.by reported [ru]. Individual Belarus-based users told GV that the page loads only header but the...

North Korea Wants to Share 2018 Olympics with South Korea

  13 July 2011

North Korea expressed that it would like to share some Olympic events with South Korea. Local news reports predicted that co-hosting with North is unlikely for political and logistical reasons. Kushibo from Monster Island blog explored the prospect of co-hosting 2018 Winter Olympic Games South Korean city of Pyeongchang won...

Australia Unveils Carbon Pricing Package

  11 July 2011

Australians remain divided after Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement of a Clean Energy package with a carbon price of $A 23 per tonne and an emissions trading scheme from 2015. Bloggers note that Australia is the only country in the world with an economy-wide carbon tax.