Stories from Quick Reads from September, 2012
Sri Lanka: The New Displaced Peoples
Dilrukshi Handunnetti reports in Groundviews that Sri Lanka’s largest internment facility was officially closed last week and its 346 interns were relocated to other confinement(s) instead of being resettled.
Iran: Alternatives to Google and Gmail
Deputy Telecommunications Minister, Ali Hakim Javadi said to Mehrnews he hoped to launch the Fakhr search engine and Fajr e-mail as alternatives to Google and Gmail in the near future.
Laos: Low Power Rates but Many People Still in the Dark
Despite the presence of several large hydro power plants in Laos, electricity access remains a problem for many people in the country. Power rates, however, are lower compared to other countries
Urban Malaysian Dictionary
Amir Muhammad's Urban Malaysian Dictionary features commonly used words in urban Malaysia. The online project started in 2008.
Cambodia: Human Rights Situation
The Special Rapporteur also noted the use of the criminal justice system against human rights defenders and those peacefully exercising their right to express opinion freely This was part of the report of the UN Human Rights Council after it conducted a dialogue in Cambodia about the human rights situation...
Nepal: New Media Gufa – A New Experiment
Blogdai reports: Dharma Adhikari's Media Foundation held a “New Media Gufa” or “cave” where 5 of Nepal's top tech-savvy journalists chained themselves to their computers for three days in a heroic attempt to determine the extent of internet penetration in Nepal and to see if Nepali stories could be accurately...
Azerbaijan: Youth Activist Believed Arrested
Emin Milli's Blog comments on the apparent disappearance of a youth activist in Azerbaijan. The blog says it believes Zaur Gurbanly's believed arrest was because of anti-presidential leaflets that were also confiscated.
Sri Lanka: The Rights Of The Homosexuals
Sri Lanka and India, despite our pre-colonial religious and social accommodation of differing sexuality, have remained Victorian in attitude long after the colonial powers have changed. In terms of gay rights, we really need to catch up, and be more honest to ourselves and each other.
Armenia: Government Pressure on NGO
The Washington Post blog features an entry by David Ignatius detailing pressure on an Armenian NGO particularly active online. Founded by former Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian, government pressure on Civilitas is believed linked to his involvement with a former party of power now actively challenging the incumbent president...
Russia: Nation's Top Blogger Headed to Prison?
The criminal investigation targeting Russia's most prominent oppositionist blogger, Alexey Navalny, is heating up. Viacheslav Opalev, the former director of a logging firm in Kirov, has confessed [ru] to participating in the embezzlement of 16 million rubles (over half a million U.S. dollars), and named Navalny as the scheme's mastermind.
Portugal: Unionists Take to the Streets in Protest
Following the biggest popular protest of the last decades in Portugal, on September 15, 2012, every week people have been taking to the streets. More demonstrations were called for September 29, “against the theft of wages, pensions and retirements” by the union confederation CGTP. On Twitter hashtags #29s, #29sPT –...
Nepal: Another Plane Crash Dips Optimism
Lex Limbu used to share his optimism and hope for the domestic airlines industry of Nepal. But the recent Sita Air crash, and the death of 19 people on board, puts all optimism in despair.
New Caledonia: Political Tension Grows Over Rights to Nickel Mines
Claudine WERY writes [fr] that political tension grows between independentist and non-indenpendentist political parties in New Caledonia over the exploitation of Nickel mines. Non-independentists accuse the other party to strike deals with China and South Korea that they are not authorized to pursue. A referendum on gaining independence from France is scheduled...
Cape Verde: Blogging for Soul Healing, Facebook as a Catwalk
Capeverdean blogger Jorge from Diário de um Thug notes [pt] that the country's blogs are dying everyday. Should Facebook be blamed? for the ones who enjoy writing, that problem is not an issue. Writing is an act of mourning and of memory healing; a soul cure has many more advantages...
Africa: Arranged Corporate Marriages
Bankelele points out corporate marriages of note in Africa: Barclays of UK and South Africa’s Absa Group are in talks to merge their African operations – but this is not really new as the plan was set in motion six years ago.
The Gloomy Years of Colombian Television
Since last May [es], ‘pink sauce’ from popular gossip website La Fiscalía has been posting a series on “the gloomy years of Colombian television” [es], where he reviews, tongue-in-cheek and year by year between 1992 and 2012, the most popular mainstream medium in the country. Readers share their memories of...
Pakistan: Taking Off Hijab
The blogger of Kiss My Roti takes off her hijab and provides the reason for it.
China's Digital Publishing Market
Laurence Harris from DANWEI looks into the market potentials and copyrights challenges of the Chinese digital publishing market.
China: A New Breed of Sino-foreign Film Co-productions
China Hearsay republished an article from Agenda Magazine about various “tricks” to get into the China film market by making use of the system of Sino-foreign film co-productions. The issue at stake is, if there is two versions of the same film catering the China and western market, can we...
Armenia: A New Response to Hate Crime?
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on news of an attack on transsexual sex workers in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. The blog notes that not only did the victims report the crime, but that the police formerly accepted it as such while also using ‘acceptable non-discriminatory wording.’ The blog implies that if...
