Stories from 20 April 2011
Estonia: Security police report hits documentary filmer
Gedanken über Estland reports [GER] that the Estonian documentary filmer, Oleg Besedin, is accused of anti-Estonian propaganda in the 2010 annual report of Estonia's security police, KaPo.
Belarus: Human Rights defenders arrested after Minsk bomb
LJ user anei_aka_kirian reports [RU] that authorities in Belarus have arrested a number of human rights defenders, among others prominent activist Pavel Levinov, accused of involvement in the recent bombing...
Global: Bloggers Take Issue with Anti-Niqaab Punditry
On April 16, 2011, France's ban on the niqaab and burqa went into effect, re-stirring emotions on the subject and sparking protests in the European country and beyond. In cyberspace, bloggers are taking issue with popular pundits on the subject, focusing particular attention on Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy's pro-niqaab ban stance.
Kazakhstan: Bloggers Keep an Eye on Floods as Official Media Keep Quiet
Two large cities in Kazakhstan are suffering from major floods, situated in the centers of two provinces – Uralsk in the western part of the country and Ust-Kamenogorsk in the east. Official media and many private publications have not provided a full picture of the disaster, and the real scope of damage is not being told. Bloggers have led the coverage of the situation, taking field trips with photo and video cameras, and providing assistance to the people.
Saudi Arabia: Mapping Human Rights Violations
Amnesty International has set up a crowd sourced map (Ar) on human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. The aim is to allow users to report and map human rights violations...
Singapore: Bloggers Criticize PAP Manifesto
Singapore’s ruling coalition, People’s Action Party, released its election manifesto on April 17, 2011, which was immediately criticized by many bloggers for being “too vague.” PAP has been in power for five decades already. The General Elections will take place on May 7.
Central Asia: Finalists of BarCamp Ideas Market
Global Voices has already provided an overview of BarCamp Central Asia, which took place on 15-17 April, 2011 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In this post we would like to give our readers a closer look at online projects, developed by young bloggers and IT specialists from Central Asia. BarCamp Ideas Market - a special section of the event was dedicated to new ideas and future Internet trends in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
China: College mistress “price list” exposed
Chiafu Chen from Ministry of Tofu has translated a forum post from MOP about the exposure of college mistress “price list” and contract.
Ukraine: “Crumbs From the Table”
Foreign Notes reports that a Ukrainian MP Rinat Akhmetov has bought a penthouse in London for £136 million ($222 million), and intends to donate $1 million for the construction of...
Kazakhstan, Russia: Photos of Baikonur
At Russia Blog, Anton Verstakov's photos from Baikonur, a city in Kazakhstan, rented and administered by Russia, home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Hungary: More on the New Constitution
More on the new Hungarian constitution – at Hungarian Spectrum and Hungarian Watch.
