Stories from 31 July 2011
Poland: Smolensk Report Blames Both Polish and Russian Sides
On July 29, Poland presented its final report on the 2010 Smolensk plane crash, in which 96 people died, including the then president of Poland Lech Kaczynski. While putting the major blame on the Polish pilot's error, the report also pointed at the fault of the defective lighting at Smolensk airport and Russian air controllers.
Plank Vietnam
A Tumblr account was created encouraging Vietnam netizens to post their planking pictures.
Guinea: Censorship Lifted on the Coverage of the President Attack
Souleymane Bah [fr] annonces on GUINÉENS UNIS : “Guinea's National Council on Communication (CNC) has lifted on Thursday [July 28] the ban imposed on July 25 to Guinean media on the attack against President Alpha Condé private residence in Conakry.”
Vietnam: TEDx Mekong
TEDx Mekong will take place on August 18 in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. This year's theme is “Entrepreneurship in Vietnam”
Vietnam: Resolving the dispute over Spratly Islands
Vietnam Talking Points uploads an article by Thi Quang Lam, a former general in the South Vietnamese Army, who writes about the dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea involving Vietnam, China, and other Southeast Asian nations.
United Arab Emirates: Adjournment of Blogger Ahmed Mansour's Tria
”Poor Arab and Emirati intellectuals and thinkers!” bewails Ahmed Al Mouhareb [ar] while reporting on his Twitter account the deferment the trial of the blogger and activist Ahmed Mansour and of four of his companions until September 26 [en]. Arrested in the beginning of April 2011, after having signed a...
Practicing legal profession in Vietnam
Attorney Huynh Van Dong writes about the challenges facing lawyers in Vietnam. He reports that an increasing number of lawyers are now in jail for “expressing their own personal opinion.”
Poland: Art of Travelling the Polish Way
Michael Dembinski of W-wa Jeziorki instructs his readers on how to travel by night train in Poland and what to think of.
Latvia: Arguing the Failed State Case
Juris Kaža of Failed State Latvia? argues why he thinks that Latvia is a failed state lite, and provides historical and socioeconomic reasons for his case.
Russia: US Support of Opposition?
LJ user grad46 (Maxim Petrovich) claims [ru] that several Russian opposition groups are funded by US-interests. Until recently an opposition activist himself, Petrovich publishes corroborating documentation, accuses several leading opposition activists of taking American money, and is interviewed [ru] on the issue by Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.
Mozambique: Political Rapper Arrested
Mozambicans are reacting to what appears to have been the arrest yesterday of controversial and talented MC Azagaia. While there is no official news, some of his 4,600+ fans showed their support on Facebook and have created a “Free Azagaia” event. The rapper was questioned in 2008 by police, who...
Gambia: Peace Corps Volunteer Visits Gambia After 38 Years
“The first black US Peace Corps volunteer to come to The Gambia, in 1970, nine years after the founding of Peace Corps by former US President John F Kennedy in 1961, has arrived in The Gambia with his family, to share his experience as a peace corps volunteer,” Shout-Africa reports.
Lesotho: Discover Lesotho
Watch a video of Episode 4 of Discover Lesotho: “In this episode of Discover Lesotho Palesa takes us to the Liphofung Caves of Butha-Buthe guided by Mohau. This place is one of Lesotho’s smallest but most intriguing national heritage sites. You can learn about the San people that have stayed...
Somalia: Happy Ramadan
Happy Ramadan wishes from Terror Free Somalia Foundation: “In the spirit of Ramadan, I pray that Ramadan gets into our hearts and minds and make us embrace all factions of Muslims without undermining their tradition and further pray that we treat every human on the earth with dignity, respect and...
Africa: Prefix Taps Into Africa’s Digital Realm
Prefix taps into Africa’s digital realm, Bontle Moeng reports: “Prefix Technology, a software design company is developing mobile applications and content management tools (cms) for Africa’s online publishing companies. In SA, the company connects 1 in 5 people to a digital platform.”
D.R. of Congo: “Missing” Governor Jets Back
Alex Engwete posts a video of “missing” Governor Moïse Katumbi of Katanga province and his family after they returned from his holidays spent at a still undisclosed location: “The millionaire governor had chartered what looked to me like a Falcon jet…Upon deplaning he was interviewed by the local press on...
South Africa: WordCamp Cape Town 2011
Get ready for WordCamp Cape Town 2011: “WordCamp Cape Town is scheduled for 15th September 2011 and will serve as a platform for discussing the latest trends in WordPress, targeting developers and publishers alike.”
Syria: Tanks Enter Hama on Eve of Ramadan
On the eve of Ramadan, Syrian troops have entered the city of Hama, reportedly killing as many as 45 people by 11:00 am on Sunday, July 31.
China: Hu Jia's tweets
Mainland Chinese activist Hu Jia had been imprisoned for 3.5 years under the charge of “inciting state sedition”. He was released on 26 of June 2011. @WLYeung has translated Hu's tweets about his state of mind.
China: Music Video on Wenzhou Train Crash
Some netizens have changed the lyrics of a popular rock song “Nothing to my name” by Cui Jian to comment upon the Wenzhou Train Crash. C Custer from China Geeks has the lyrics of the music video translated.
China: Censorship pressure on Wenzhou train crash
Qian Gang and David Bandurski from China Media Project discuss about censorship pressure faced by mainland Chinese media in the reports of Wenzhou train crash.
