Stories from 3 February 2011
Qatar: Down with Mubarak, residents say
Down with Mubarak. That is the popular sentiment in the tiny Gulf Arab country of Qatar, whose residents have been furiously filling the Internet with support for Egyptian protesters, criticisms of Mubarak and statements of pride for Doha-based Al Jazeera for its no-holds-barred reporting of the week's events.
Russia: Wikileaks Reveals Russian Game in Tajikistan
Russia oppositional weekly Novaya Gazeta that also serves as an official partner of Wikileaks in the country reported on diplomatic cables from Tajikistan outlining a dirty geopolitical game that Russia allegedly plays in that post-Soviet republic.
Russia: Woman Sentenced For Hacking Social Network Accounts
A businesswoman who worked for one of Russian tourist firms has been sentenced to probationary ten months of imprisonment for hacking the accounts of several users of popular Russian social network Vkontakte.ru, news portal Lenta.ru reported.
Egypt: Five Killed in Tahrir Square as Egyptians Day 10 Protests Begin
Anti-Mubarak demonstrations are continuing for the 10th day across Egypt, with harrowing reports of death and injuries coming out of Cairo's Tahrir Square, where government-paid thugs clashed with protesters all night.
Brazil: Tribute to musician Chico Science
Pierre Lucena from the blog Acerto de Contas, pays tribute [pt] to Chico Science, deceased 14 years ago. He was the founder of one of the most influential musical movements in Brazil – Mangue Beat – a blended rock and punk style with traditional beats from the northeast.
East Timor: Affordable telephony and collateral outcomes
Lemi Soares, from the blog IT Forum [tet], shares a video from Linux Conference Australia 2011, where he presented Dili Village Telco – a pioneer open technology deployment that aims to provide affordable telephony and to promote the creation of sustainable businesses for local people.
Brazil: “Fat” teachers rejected from schools
Ricardo Kotscho asks himself [pt] “why fat people cannot teach”, after five teachers were rejected on medical examination to teach in Brazilian state schools because of their obesity.
Myanmar privatizes airports, airlines
Joseph Allchin, writing for the Democratic Voice of Burma, discusses the issue of privatization in Myanmar as the government readies the privatization of the country's main airport and the operation of its airlines.
Fleeing refugees in Thailand-Myanmar border
The Women's League of Burma is asking the govenrment of Thailand to give temporary shelter to Myanmar civilians who are fleeing from the fighting in the Karen State of Myanmar.
Myanmar: Leaders of the new Parliament
After 23 years, Myanmar's legislature opened its first session and elected its new leaders. The new officers are all members of the junta-backed party.
Vietnam: Building child protection systems
The Cross-Border Programme blogs about the efforts in Mong Cai, Vietnam to build child protection systems, in particular, addressing the issue of child trafficking.
Philippines: Anti-Cybercrime Bills
Tonyo Cruz uploads the full text of proposed ‘Cybercrime’ prevention legislative bills in the Philippines.
Vietnam: Bringing Facebook back
By filtering access to Facebook, it appears the Vietnamese government has confirmed the law of unintended consequences: Tens of thousands of Vietnamese have gathered in public squares online to demonstrate against government censorship.
