5 August 2011

Stories from 5 August 2011

Peru: The Amazon and the Diversion of the Huallaga and Marañón Rivers

Law 29,760 -also known as 'Corina Law'- was published this July in Peru, qualifying as a "public need and of national interest" the diversion of the Marañon and Huallaga rivers "for hydro-power and agricultural purposes." The projects associated with this law have caused much opposition because of the strong environmental impact they would have on the Amazon Rainforest.

5 August 2011

Sri Lanka: Should Poor Countries Play Games?

In reaction to Sri Lanka's bid for the next Commonwealth Games, which may cost billions of dollars and pose risk of corruption and controversy, Indi.ca asks should poor countries have...

5 August 2011

Haiti: Tackling the Housing Problem

Toussaint on Haiti maintains that “kicking people out of the IDP camps without providing them with an adequate alternative will not solve the [housing] problem”, adding: “The only solution is...

5 August 2011

Cuba: Female Protesters Arrested

Reports of female political activists being “violently arrested on the steps of the old Capitol building in Havana after their demonstration in favor of freedom for the Cuban people drew...

5 August 2011

South Korea: Extremist Grandpas Attack Labor Activists

The Korea Parents Federation, an extreme right-wing group made up exclusively of elderly Korean men has been involved in clashes with protestors demonstrating against massive layoffs in Busan, South Korea's largest port city, on July 31, 2011. Are the group conservative extremists or rather victims political manipulation?

5 August 2011

Bahrain: Liliane Khalil, Another Blog Hoax or Propaganda?

On 2 August 2011, British blogger and PhD Student, Marc Owen Jones wrote a post about his investigation into the identity of an alleged Arab-American Journalist named Liliane Khalil. Jones traced back all the social media accounts of this persona, only to discover that most of what she had written about herself turned out to be false.

5 August 2011

Ukraine: Court Orders Yulia Tymoshenko's Arrest

According to media reports, the court has ordered the arrest of Ukraine's ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko (@YuliaTymoshenko [uk]). Olga Sulyma (@OlenyatkoS) addresses [en] Ukraine's President Victor Yanukovych on Twitter: “Dear Mr.President,by...

5 August 2011

Azerbaijan: Refugee problem

Ilkin Huseynov posts photographs of refugees in Azerbaijan on Invisible Photographer Asia and says that even 17 years after the 1994 ceasefire agreement with Armenia the problem remains urgent and...

5 August 2011