Stories from Quick Reads from September, 2013
Peruvian Blogger with Parkinson's Disease Publishes Book
Peruvian blogger Cyrano, from the blog Columna 17 [es], has published his book “El párkinson y yo” (Parkinson's and me), where he shares his daily life as a patient with this medical condition, and he announced it [es] on his blog: Se trata de un relato desde mi experiencia como...
South Korean Major Newspaper Criticized for Violating Child's Privacy
An international child advocacy organization, Save the Children's Korean office released a statement [ko] condemning a South Korean major newspaper for violating a child's privacy. Donga, one of the three biggest conservative newspapers in the country, recently published a column [ko] mocking an 11-year-old illegitimate son of the chief prosecutor who...
Iran:Facebook and Twitter Blocked Again
Internet users in Iran lost access Tuesday to Facebook and Twitter. Several bloggers and news sites reported Facebook and Twitter became widely accessible to Iranian users on Monday, Sept 16, for the first time since 2009.Iranian officials dismissed the episode as a technical glitch.
Colombia's Agrarian Strike Enters Fourth Week
After three tense weeks, Colombia´s rural national strike continues with no white smoke on the horizon. To contain the spreading crisis, the government of Juan Manuel Santos, under pressure from peasant strikers who have blocked several crucial highways, has followed a three-pronged strategy that has thus far proved ineffective. Nazih...
Film Screening of East Timor's First Feature in Dili
The Díli premiere of East Timor’s first locally produced feature film, A Guerra da Beatriz (Beatriz’s War), takes place today, September 17, 2013. The love story spans the years of Indonesian occupation and beyond (1975 – 2009): [confronting] the issues at the heart of modern East Timor: forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The producers, FairTrade...
Brazilian Artists Unite to Save Lions in Kenya
Brazilian artists contribute their artwork to a crowdfunding campaign supporting the Ewaso Lions Project, dedicated to saving lions in Kenya.
Iran: Facebook, Twitter become Accessible
Several bloggers and news sites reported Facebook and Twitter became widely accessible to Iranian users on Monday, Sept 16, for the first time since 2009. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and several other Iranian officials use Facebook and Twitter.
How To Handle A Chinese Government Raid
Dan Harris from China Law Blog gave some advices on how to handle a Chinese government raid. The blogger stressed the importance of not volunteering information to the government.
Hail storm Turned Islamabad White
Blue Area, Islamabad right now… #Islamabad pic.twitter.com/RKpesYfA6h — محمد فرحان حامد (@FarhanHamid36) September 15, 2013 On Sunday (15th of September, 2013) morning Islamabad went pitch dark as a hail storm and heavy rain hit the Pakistan capital. Chowrangi team compiles twitter reactions.
A Positive Example of Community Farming in Mozambique
A positive example of a farming, savings and literacy community project in Mozambique was highlighted in the blog of the NGO Justiça Ambiental (Environmental Justice) following their visit to the community of Nacoma, about 83 km from the northern city of Nampula last July. Justiça Ambiental learned about the association's good practices...
Chile Coup Recounted Through Interactive Storytelling
The online version of Chilean newspaper La Tercera released an interactive, multimedia special [es, en] on the 40th anniversary of the coup against Salvador Allende. Mariana Santos worked with the team behind this project as an ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellow. Mariana says that “the goal was to tell this...
Chinese Micro-bloggers Want to Un-verify User Account
As Big Vs, verified celebrities in Chinese micr-blog, have become crackdown targets. Some verified users are asking Sina Weibo to Un-verify their account. More from Offbeat China.
New Australian Government: Where are the Women?
On her YaThink? blog, Noely Neate asks why there is likely to be only one woman minister in Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's new government. Where are the “Women of Merit”?: Married, unmarried, Gay, children, no children, minorities… The previous Cabinet, particularly under Ms Gillard, including both women AND men,...
Gender Inequality in Laos and Cambodia Schools
Laurence Bradford studied some statistics about female education in Southeast Asia. She highlighted the problems and discrimination faced by young girls in Cambodia and Laos. For example in Cambodia, 50 percent of young girls are laborers instead of students. In Laos, male literacy rates are 20 percent higher than those...
Dissecting Myanmar's Internet Connection Woes
Jefry Tupas analyzed some of the issues that affect Myanmar's Internet sector. He cited the high costs of acquiring telephone handsets, SIM cards, and Internet connection in the country. He also wrote about the social and economic impact of the slow Internet speed which is believed to be controlled by...
Its Getting Hot In Sri Lanka
Blogger sEnEl informs that during recent months Sri Lankans experienced some of the hottest days in their lifetimes. The blogger attributes the reason for the erratic weather to the global climate change.
Coercive Population Control in Three Villages in Northern Sri Lanka
Groundviews reports that women of three villages in Kilinochchi with a child under the age of five were summoned to Veravil divisional hospital to weigh their children and to receive a vaccination. According to the report the doctors and nurses used coercive language and manipulated medical information to convince those...
Kissing on Egyptian Streets
A photograph circulating on Facebook of two young Egyptians kissing in the street stirred both outrage and admiration. Shared by Ahmed ElGohary, a commentator objected to ‘the lack of manhood’ entailed by sharing such photo. Others praised the beauty of it and its revolutionary sense. Public display of affection is...
Chinese Reactions to Tokyo Olympics 2020
Offbeat China blogs about mainland Chinese netizens initial reactions to the success of Tokyo in winning the 2020 Olympics.
