5 June 2011

Stories from 5 June 2011

Cuba: Backlash?

Blogger and gay activist Francisco Cruz Rodríguez questions whether recent op-eds [es] defining marriage as uniquely between a man and a woman, published in the two state-run nationally distributed newspapers...

5 June 2011

Georgia: Sharon Stone Seducing the Nation

The most popular topic for discussion on social networks, as well as by the online and traditional media, this weekend was the premiere of Renny Harlin's movie about the 2008 Georgia-Russia war. However, the most important guest invited for the premiere was Hollywood actress Sharon Stone.

5 June 2011

Uzbekistan: A Dissident Poet Released

Noah Tucker writes that the Uzbekistan authorities released Yusuf Juma, the poet and activist who was jailed for slander in 2008 after publishing a series of poems related to the...

5 June 2011

Afghanistan: Border War Expands

Joshua Foust says that Pakistan and Afghanistan are engaged in a low-level border conflict with militants crossing the border to attack both militaries as well.

5 June 2011

Afghanistan: Contractor Mistreatment

Joshua Foust writes about the workers, employed in Afghanistan to different service businesses, and the bad conditions they face, including food riots, sexual abuse, appalling living conditions, and recruitment fraud.

5 June 2011

Tanzania: Opposition MP Tweets His Arrest

Zitto Kabwe, a Tanzanian Member of Parliament from the opposition party Chadema, was arrested on June 4 in Central Tanzania soon after holding a public rally. As he was taken into police custody, the MP used his mobile phone to tweet the arrest to his 1,640 followers who retweeted, sympathised and tweeted back messages of encouragement.

5 June 2011

Slovakia: The People Vs. the Census

Tibor Blazko writes about problems with Slovakia's 2011 Population and Housing Census, which took place in Slovakia on May 21, 2011. Issues include people's unwillingness to fill out complex forms and the reportedly high cost of the census.

5 June 2011

Tunisia: Official Arrested for Criticizing Interior Ministry

Samir Feriani, a senior official in the Interior Ministry, was forcibly arrested by the police and taken into a military barracks in Tunisia on May 29. Days earlier, he had published in “Al-Khabeer” magazine two letters addressed to the Tunisian people, in which he criticized the recruitment policy of the ministry.

5 June 2011