Stories about Breaking News from October, 2011
Russia: LiveJournal Loses 23 Percent of the Audience in 2011
Vedomosti analyses [ru] serious drop (23-25 percent in 2011) in LiveJournal traffic. While most analytics agree that the decrease is connected to DDoS attacks on the RuNet's main political platform as well as interface improvements in Facebook and Google+, LiveJournal representative explain the negative dynamics with ‘summer seasonal prevalence.’
Myanmar: Release of Several Political Prisoners
Eleven Media reported that several political prisoners in Myanmar like Ko Thu Ya (Famous Comedian), Ko Ko Gyi (San Chaung), Monks from 2007 Saffron Revolution and members of opposition party NLD have been released this morning.
Russia: Deceased Yukos Lawyer's Last Interview
The New Times publishes the last interview [ru] with Vasily Aleksanyan, former Vice President of Yukos oil company, who died on October 3, 2011 due to AIDS complications after his release from jail. “They're terrifying me every day,” confessed Aleksanyan saying that police didn't stop abusing him. Bloggers widely discuss the...
Poland: Parliamentary Election Roundup
Raf Uzar writes that the Oct. 9 parliamentary election “will be a true test of Poland’s democratic calibre.” Polandian writes about a Lublin candidate “willing to court controversy in order to gain attention for some votes”: Katarzyna Lenart, 23, whose striptease video had over 410,000 views as of Oct. 8....
United States: Alabama Passes Country's Strictest Anti-Immigration Law
On September 29, the state of Alabama passed the United States' strictest anti-immigration law, following in the footsteps of Arizona's already controversial law, which criminalized illegal migrant status. Read reactions from the blogosphere.
Yemen: Celebrating Tawakkol Karman
Tawakkol Karman, an outspoken journalist and human rights activist, described in the Guardian as a "thorn in [Yemeni President Ali Abdullah] Saleh's back", was today named as Yemen's first Noble Peace Prize winner. She has been a prime example of courage and bravery in Yemen since 2007. The reactions continue on Twitter.
Yemen: Congrats to Tawakkol Karman
Congratulations have been pouring in from all corners since the winners of this year's much anticipated Nobel Peace Prize winners were announced. Yemeni journalist and activist Tawakkol Karman joins Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee as their year's winners.
Madagascar: 164 homes burnt down in Fort Dauphin
The second serious fire in the region within the last 3 weeks burned down 164 homes in the the fokontany of Amparihy in Fort Dauphin, Azafady reports. The fires have been amplified by continuous strong winds across the SE region of Madagascar. An online fundraising page has been set up...
Arab World: RIP Steve Jobs
The Arab world is mourning the death of Steve Jobs, Apple's visionary leader. Tributes are pouring in via social media as netizens wake up to the news.
India: The Advent Of $45 Tablet PCs
Aakash, the world's cheapest Tablet PC ($45), has been launched in India, reports Anupam Saxena. The government plans to distribute 10 million tablet PCs to post-secondary students in India.
