Stories from 1 December 2011
Venezuela: Photography Contest Shows Positive Side of Caracas
Centro Cultural Chacao and the blog Caracas Ciudad de la Furia [es] invited residents of Caracas to submit photos showing the positive side of the Venezuelan capital. You can see the participating photos in the contest's official Flickr gallery and read updates through their Twitter account (@ciudad_positiva) [es]. Winners will...
North Korea's State News Agency to Launch Chinese News Service
North Korea’s official news agency and Kim Jong-il's major propaganda outlet, Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) will start a Chinese news service this week. North Korea Tech blog wrote an analysis on the issue with background information on the news agency's history.
Mozambique: Reactions to an Everyday Urban Tragedy
Last week, Mozambican readers of the newspaper @Verdade reacted to the tragic and all-too-normal story of a man who was left to die near a Maputo marketplace after apparently suffering alcohol poisoning. Nearby police allegedly took over 24 hours to react. Residents in the vicinity said they were scared to intervene.
Global Voices Podcast: Technology that Empowers!
In this edition of the Global Voices podcast you can hear how women in Egypt are using technology to fight harassment, and what our Global Voices authors and editors got up to at the Mozilla Festival in London. We also mark World Aids Day by speaking to HIV/AIDS activists in Kenya and Egypt about the special work they do.
Ethiopia: Homosexuality Debate as Capital Hosts AIDS Conference
An upcoming conference in Ethiopia on AIDS and sexually transmitted infections in Africa has sparked controversy. Religious leaders and government officials have met to decide whether or not to ban gay rights activists from gathering. Netizens weigh in on the subject on Facebook.
France: A Magazine For Women Living with Breast Cancer
Rose (Pink) is a new bi-yearly French magazine for women living with breast cancer or who had survived one. The publication is resolutely upbeat and “glossy”, it covers health issues as well as fashion and beauty, to fight the stigma and silence attached to breast cancer. An online version of...
Madagascar: French Passenger Convicted of Racial Abuse Towards a Flight Attendant
A passenger on a flight from Mauritius to Paris was convicted of racial abuse by a Malagasy court after he told a Malagasy flight attendant that [fr] “his ancestors were slaves and so is he because he is black. He (the passenger) is white therefore the flight attendant should do...
Cuba: Thinking about the Internet
Translating Cuba notes that blogger Yoani Sanchez has been included Foreign Policy's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers.
Barbados: Silk Cotton Tree to be Felled
The decision to remove an old Silk Cotton tree to make room for a new roadway inspires bloggers to discuss the importance of green space and the power of social media to help “civic minded Barbadians…mobilize.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Aiming for Zero HIV
On World Aids Day, Abeni says: “The Caribbean has the second highest regional HIV prevalence after sub-Saharan Africa, although the epidemic has slowed considerably since the mid-1990s. The theme for World AIDS Day 2011 is ‘Getting to Zero.’ In other words wrap it up, get tested, dismantle the AIDS related...
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: West Indian Brotherhood?
As Barbadian fishermen appeared before a Tobago magistrate on charges of illegally entering the country yesterday, B.C. Pires suggests that “there’s something to be said…for one West Indian island locking up its brothers from another island on their Independence Day”, adding: “If you want to know what’s wrong with our...
Guyana: Still Waiting on Election Results
Even as the votes are still being counted following Guyana's general election, Guyana-Gyal says: “Some might forget that they ain’t God, they gon want to dictate how the poor and the rich must live or die, how days must end and darkness begin…when all is said and done, good health...
China, USA: Comparing Poverty Lines
China has decided to raise its poverty line to RMB 2,300 yuan (approximately USD 360) per capita income, but does the new poverty line reflect the reality of China's poor? And how does it compare to that of the United States?
Portugal: Posters on the crisis on Facebook
The Facebook page of the group Artigo 21º (the article of the Portuguese Constitution that details the “right to resist”) has been disseminating original material containing facts related to the austerity measures, with posters like this. It informs “more than 400,000 workers do not make more than 485€ a month”.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Pomegranate Diplomacy
The Human Journalist posts a photograph of pomegranate juice from Azerbaijan sold at an Armenian market in Los Angeles. With the two countries still locked in bitter conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the blog calls the culinary find ‘Pomegranate Diplomacy.’
Armenia-Azerbaijan: The Nagorno Karabakh conflict on YouTube
The South Caucasus Diary takes a look at how the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is waged by Armenians and Azerbaijanis on YouTube. In particular, the blog notes how the conflict is mainly represented on the video sharing site… and how it could be.
China: Emigrating Elites
Gin Ge from China Bubble Watch points out that the biggest challenge for the development of Chinese economy is the emigrating elites.
Bulgaria: 30,000 Protest Against Cuts and Pension Reform
According to the trade unions, between 25,000 and 30,000 people protested in Sofia on Wednesday against the new pension reform, social cuts and the cancellation of the majority of trains in the country (a photo; videos – here and here). The police sent to contain the rally supported the people's...
Hungary: Solidarity With the Homeless and the Poor
Many citizen actions have been organized in the past weeks in Budapest in protest against the modification of the law that frames homelessness as an offence punishable with a €530 fine or imprisonment. Marietta Le reports.
