· August, 2012

Stories about Protest from August, 2012

Pakistan: Conflicting Reports in #SaveRimsha Blasphemy Case

The blasphemy law in Pakistan has been the focus of a heated debate yet again, after a minor christian girl named Rimsha was accused of blasphemy and was sent to jail. There have been a few conflicting reports about the case, and the most significant one being a picture of a girl being used, that has now become the face of the #SaveRimsha campaign.

31 August 2012

Russia: Moscow's Peculiar Illegal Parking Problem

RuNet Echo

Russian adventures and misadventures in parking could be a movie plot. But Russia’s parking problems are anything but comedy. It remains to be seen how vigorously the country will deal with illegal parking. If it succeeds, its methods could show what kind of transportation system and cities Russia will have, and even what kind of country it will be.

31 August 2012

Hungary: Shantytown Destroyed to Help Real Estate Investment

Some 45-50 people have been living in their makeshift shacks in the abandoned woods of District X in Budapest. Some of the residents have built up self-supporting farms, but in June 2012 the local municipality started to move them out, which is not a unique phenomenon in Hungary's capital.

29 August 2012

Russia: Chainsaws to the Cross

RuNet Echo

On August 25, unknown parties sawed down three wooden crosses in the city of Chelyabinsk, in the Urals. The same night, another cross came down in Arkhangelsk, in the north. Was it a copycat political statement, or a dire plot by the Kremlin to sow discord?

29 August 2012

Save Syria's Threatened Heritage Sites

Alongside the mounting death toll, a massacre is being perpetrated against Syria's heritage. Little is being said about this issue in both mainstream and social media, writes Thalia Rahme.

29 August 2012

Russia: Protesters Aim for Elected Office

RuNet Echo

In the lead up to Russia's next large protests planned for mid-September, activists and politicians of the anti-Kremlin opposition are increasingly showing an interest in running for local offices. If successful at the ballot box, could this trend bestow valuable "real world" political experience on Russia's protesters?

28 August 2012

Hong Kong: Occupy Central – Before Forced Eviction

The Occupy Central campaign in Hong Kong has lasted for more than 10 months and is probably one of the longest among the worldwide occupy movement. Recently the HSBC obtained a court order to evict the occupants by 9 pm, 27 August, 2012.

27 August 2012

Senegal: 18 Dead as Floods Paralyse the Country

Heavy rains led to catastrophic flooding in many regions of Senegal on August 26, 2012 with 18 dead and 42 injured so far. The Senegal government has launched a rescue plan with the help of French organisation Orsec to assist victims. Many locals on the ground feel rescue efforts have not been started quickly enough, leading to angry demonstrations on the streets of Dakar.

27 August 2012

Iran: Detained Green Movement Leader Moved to Hospital

Mir Hossein Mousavi, a key Iranian Green Movement leader, who was a reformist candidate in the 2009 presidential elections and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election unrest, has been moved to the hospital for "heart problem." Mousavi has been under house arrest for about 520 days.

23 August 2012