Stories from 28 January 2012
Brazil: Movement Calls for March Against Law on Construction in Salvador
The Movement ‘Desocupa Salvador’ – which recently claimed rights for public space during carnival -, is now calling [pt] people to march towards the City Hall on February 1. Major grievances include the illegal approval by the Mayor of amendments in a law that threatens the Enchanted Valley Ecological Park,...
Brazil: ‘Vale’ is Elected the World's Worst Corporation
Researcher Telma Monteiro wrote on her blog [pt] about the election of the Brazilian mining company Vale as the world's worst corporation of 2011, with over 25,000 votes on the Public Eye Awards. She attributes the victory to Vale's involvement with the construction of Belo Monte Dam, in the Brazilian...
Iran: ‘Hostages in Syria are not military’
Free Syrian Army says it has taken hostage seven Iranians, five of whom were allegedly soldiers complicit in the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters. But an Iranian in Friendfeed writes [fa]: “They show a card as a document to show that this people were affiliated with military but that card...
Australia Day: Fury Follows Aboriginal Tent Embassy Protest
Australia Day ceremonies are usually the dullest of events. But not when Australia’s political leaders are together just walking distance from a gathering at the contentious Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Kevin Rennie reports.
Indonesia: Promoting E-Commerce Among Small Businesses
Google partners with Indonesian private and government sectors to bring 100,000 Indonesian small and medium businesses online by the end of 2012. The initiative is called Bisnis Lokal Go Online
Singapore: Greening Initiative
Singapore Sojourn mentions the programs of the government and initiatives from the private sector to make Singapore a greener city.
South Sudan: Urgent Steps Needed to Counter Inter-Communal Violence
Urgent steps are needed to counter inter-communal violence in South Sudan: “Inter-communal violence in Jonglei and throughout South Sudan, while traditionally cyclical in nature, is not inevitable. The causes of this violence go beyond the retaliatory nature of cattle raiding and touch upon broader issues of accountability, reconciliation, political inclusion,...
Equatorial Guinea: A Story Idea for Journalists Covering the Africa Cup of Nations
Shelby Grossman shares a story idea for journalists covering the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea: ” There is a fear among those who have been in the country for a while that after the tournament the government will conduct raids and crack down on illegal immigration. The harassment...
Ethiopia: Standing With Ethiopia's Tenacious Blogger
Standing with Ethiopia's jailed blogger: “It would be hard to find a better symbol of media repression in Africa than Eskinder Nega. The veteran Ethiopian journalist and dissident blogger has been detained at least seven times by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government over the past two decades, and was put...
Africa: How Africa Tweets
Young people Tweeting from mobile devices are driving the growth of Twitter in Africa, according to How Africa Tweets, new research launched by Portland: “In the first ever attempt to comprehensively map the use of Twitter in Africa, Portland and Tweetminster analysed over 11.5 million geo-located Tweets originating on the...
Bhutan: Promoting National Language
Penstar protests against the tendency of some Bhutanese newspapers to undermine Dzongkha language and suggests that the national language needs to be promoted everywhere.
India: Right To Education vs. The Right Education
Vijay Menon points out that the education in India mostly means passing examinations and earning degree certificates and the issue of the quality of education is being ignored.
Pakistan: Hate Campaign Against Ahmadis In Rawalpindi
Naeem Shamim reports that “Banners and posters containing hate content and threats against Ahmadi Muslims are being displayed at many significant places” in Rawalpindi city near the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
China: US60,000 Per Month Postpartum Recovery Service
Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translated a local report and netizen reactions on Shanghai's postpartum recovery service which costs around US60,000 per month.
China: Girl and Boyfriend Rental for Chinese Lunar New Year
Jacky Huang from ChinaHush introduces a shopping item, girl/boyfriend rental for Chinese New Year, in Taobao, a most popular online shopping website in China.
China: Redpad for Government Official Only
China Bubble Watch blogs about the introduction of Red-pad, an electronic device similar to i-pad but sold at a price (RMB9,999) twice as high as an Apple i-pad exclusively to Chinese government officials.
Slovakia: Roma “Apartheid” – and New Housing?
According to this report [en], a US-based Hindu group was shocked by the “maltreatment” of the Roma in Slovakia, calling “to end Roma apartheid.” At the same time, the Slovak government announced [en] a new wave of social housing construction for the Roma, expecting that “the number of illegal Roma...
Slovakia: More News on Overly Expensive Website Design
Aktualne.sk reports [sk] that, following the initial financial inspection by the Ministry of Culture, the Slovak National Gallery is now required to pay 140 euro back, from the 25,000 euro that it reportedly spent on its new website (more on this here and here). Meanwhile, according to the World Association...
