Stories from 16 October 2011
Bangladesh: Protest Against Beheading Of 8 Bangladeshis In Saudi Arabia
Photoblogger Monirul Alam posts pictures of a symbolic protest in Bangladesh mocking the execution scene of the beheading of 8 Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia as punishment.
Russia: Soccer Team Qualifies for Euro 2012 – “On To Ukraine and Poland!!!”
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship is referred to by some as 'Polkraine 2012' since it will be held in both Poland and Ukraine. Russia officially qualified with a 6-0 win over Andorra; citizen media has captured the popular perception of the qualifying round.
India: A Tribute To Jagjit Singh
Parvinder Singh pays a tribute to the Indian Ghazal music legend Jagjit Singh and shares how his music crossed borders and faiths.
Worldwide: Dialogue and Peace Through Sport
Joël Bouzou, a bronze medalist during the 1984 Olympic Games and World Champion of modern penthathlon in 1987, is the founder and president of Peace and Sport, an NGO created in 2007 whose motto is "Building sustainable peace through sport".
Greece: “Hunger is coming” Blog Action Day 2011
On Blog Action Day 2011, themed this year around food to coincide with World Food Day, veteran Greek blogger Rodia writes [el] about the dangers of continuous austerity imposed on Greece: “We are in a state of siege, and food […] will soon be scarce in my country. It's already happening to...
Food Around the World on Blog Action Day 2011
Every year since 2007, Blog Action Day has united bloggers from around the world in talking about one global issue. Collectively, the thousands of bloggers participating have an audience of millions. And this year on October 16, 2011 they talked about food.
Sri Lanka: Vehicle Ownership Has Doubled In Eight Years
Indi.ca reports that “from 2002-2010, the Sri Lankan vehicle population has more than doubled”.
Poland: Election Results Signal Imminent Generation Shift
Poland's parliamenary election results seemed to be a relief to many and a surprise to everybody. The current PM Donald Tusk has become the first Polish prime minister to be elected to a consecutive term, but the real dark horse of the election is the anticlerical and libertarian Janusz Palikot, whose party has gained 10 percent of votes.
Hungary: War on the Homeless in Budapest
The Wayward Hungarian, a new English-language Tumblr blog, writes about the recent initiative by a Hungarian activist, who has “hacked” the regulation targeting the homeless living in Budapest's District VIII. The regulation imposes a fine of “up to 250 dollars if one is conducting ‘lifestyle-like’ behavior in public, but the...
World Food Day: Living with Hunger Pangs
According to the World Bank, nearly 1 billion people go to bed hungry around the world, and the rising food prices will make that number grow. Today, for the World Food Day, we put faces on those hungry families and hear their stories.
Nepal: Poor Traffic Safety Laws
Nepali Blogger points out that poor traffic safety laws were the cause of the recent accident of a passenger bus in Nepal which cost 41 lives.
Saudi Arabia Blocks Blogging Platform tumblr
Social media researcher Helmi Noman tweets: “#Saudi Arabia blocks blogging platform tumblr.com”
Taiwan: Occupy 101, merely a translation of Occupy Wall Street ?
Yesterday(Oct. 15), more than 300 “occupiers” gathered at the 1st floor of Taipei 101, the landmark of capitalism in Taiwan[photo] to protest against the financial industry and biased governmental policy. Sun Qiong-li(孫窮理) of Coolloud.org pointed out[zh] that for Taiwan, our first enemy should be imperialism from US, and the event itself...
Azerbaijan: Culinary blogging
Scary Azeri posts an interview with fellow Azerbaijani blogger Feride Sadikhova Buyuran best known for her blog on national cuisine, AZ Cookbook.
Australian Documentary about Japanese Yakuza
Jake Adelstein comments on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's 2010 documentary, “Yakuza”. The video is now available for viewing on YouTube.
Japan: Campaign to increase inbound tourism
In response to the ministry of tourism's plan to invite 10,000 foreigners to Japan, Danny Choo asks what your travel plans would be. The campaign's aim is to create buzz by leveraging social media to attract tourists to Japan.
Whose Language? The Royal Spanish Academy and Copyright
Can a language used by millions of people be copyrighted and be the property of an institution? This and other questions are circulating online following the news that the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) and Grupo Planeta told Uruguayan journalist Ricardo Soca to remove web content considered their exclusive property, such as links to the RAE website.
Bolivia: A Judicial Election Without Campaigning
For the first time in its history, Bolivian citizens will elect judges and magistrates to five different courts and tribunals. However, this election also prohibited public campaigning causing many to wonder for whom to vote. Some also feel that the election is set up to benefit the ruling party, and plan to vote null as a way to send a message.
