Stories from 3 February 2012
Cuba: Protest Against Hunger Striker's Death
Pedazos de la Isla posts a video of dissidents protesting the death of political prisoner Wilman Villar Mendoza in a neighborhood of Guantanamo.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Caring Diaspora
“Sometimes I have scant respect for Vincentians in the diaspora. They appear to be extremely critical of everything Vincentian, know what's best for us but provide little beyond chatter”: Abeni...
Cuba: Nineteenth “No”
“For the 19th time Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez has been denied an exit visa in order to travel abroad”: Havana Times reports.
Trinidad & Tobago: Principal Charged with Child Cruelty
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog reports that the school principal accused of “placing the head of two students in a toilet bowl at her school and flushing it” has been...
Barbados, Guyana: “Fearless” Freddie
Barbados Underground has been “following closely what is happening to the man we have dubbed the ‘Fearless Journalist’ Professor Freddie Kissoon,” adding: “The silence of regional media and governments is...
Egypt: Storify on Port Said Clashes
Greek blogger Asteris Masouras compiles a Storify round up of reactions and coverage following Wednesday's deadly Port Said clashes, which left more than 70 people dead in Egypt.
Bahrain: Celebration and Criticism Greet “Manama, Capital of Arab Culture 2012″
February 2 saw the official launch of Manama, Capital of Arab Culture 2012, which has been both welcomed and criticised by Bahrain's netizens. As the celebration was taking place, opposition protests were broken up elsewhere in the capital.
Israel: The Lie, the Truth and the Meme (of the Soldier and the Girl)
A photograph of a street performance in Bahrain went viral, after it was alleged it depicted an Israeli soldier stepping on an Arab girl. In this age of media manipulation and virility, some Israelis decided the best response to a viral lie is a humorous meme, writes Carmel L. Vaisman.
Kuwait: Parliamentary Election Marred by Violence
Incidents of violence have marked Kuwait's parliamentary elections. One candidate, Mohammed Al-Juwaihel, became the target of angry tribespeople after making discriminatory remarks and his election tent hub was burnt down. Mona Kareem provides a multimedia report.
Sri Lanka: Ravaya News Website Blocked
Freedom Of Expression In SriLanka reports that six websites including Ravaya News have recently been blocked within Sri Lanka.
North Korea : Two Japanese Indicted for Exporting PC to North Korea
North Korea Tech blog wrote about two Japanese people who were indicted for exporting personal computers to North Korea, thereby violating the Japanese government’s trade sanctions.
Pakistan: Self Regulation For Social Media?
Salman Latif informs that an initiative has been taken by eminent journalists and media personnel to agree to a set of self regulatory guidelines for TV channels in Pakistan. Salman...
Brazil: Pinheirinho Videos ‘Cover-Up’ Leads Activist to Hunger Strike
The violent eviction of thousands of poor residents from their homes in Pinheirinho, Brazil, has been documented by activists. One of them, Pedro Rios Leão, is on hunger strike in protest against the alleged concealment of the severity of the "massacre" by the mainstream media.
Venezuela: Reflections on Consumption and Advertising
The blog El Ultimatum Hiperboreo [es] shares some thoughts on the western culture of consumption in Venezuela as seen through the advertising that seems to fill the pages of one of...
Côte d'Ivoire: Hackers Threaten Intelligence Agency Upon Arrest of Journalist
Managing editor of newspaper Le Patriote, Charles Sanga, was arrested by the Ivorian intelligence agency, DTS, following a controversial story about the constitutional court of Côte d'Ivoire. The next day, anonymous hackers threatened to leak confidential documents of the agency if he was not released.
Russia: Realism of Rearmament Plans
Streetwise Professor and Siberian Light critically discuss Russia's ambitious plans, presented by vice-premier Dmitry Rogozin, to build an aircraft carrier and six submarines annually over the coming years.
Kyrgyzstan: “Putin Is a Complex Bio-Robot”
Ex-presidential candidate Arstanbek Abdylaev, scourge of the Kyrgyz Internet, has struck again. In a recent press conference he disclosed his world conspiracy theories, including a claim that Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, is a “complex bio-robot.”
Senegal: A Week of Living Dangerously
On January 31 in Senegal, the opposition came out in the streets to protest against a third term for incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade and other decisions taken by the country's Constitutional Council, resulting in violence and vitriol both offline and online.
China: A Death Sentence to Hide Government Corruption?
Wu Ying, named China's sixth richest woman in 2006, has lost her appeal against her death sentence at the Zhejiang Higher People's Court. The 30-year old was first arrested in March 2007, charged with illegal fund raising. Oiwan Lam reports.
Ukraine: Ex.ua is Back Online
Ex.ua, a file-sharing site that the authorities shut down two days ago, is now back online [uk], though its content is still inaccessible. @bl4ka tweets [ru]: “The DDoS revolution has...
