3 February 2012

Stories from 3 February 2012

St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Caring Diaspora

  3 February 2012

“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 has found a notable exception to the rule.

Cuba: Nineteenth “No”

  3 February 2012

“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

  3 February 2012

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 charged; Plain Talk comments on “the depravity required” to commit such an act: “Flush it to make a point, to...

Barbados, Guyana: “Fearless” Freddie

  3 February 2012

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 unacceptable on this matter.”

Pakistan: Self Regulation For Social Media?

  3 February 2012

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 asserts that a similar measure should also be taken for the social media.

Kyrgyzstan: “Putin Is a Complex Bio-Robot”

  3 February 2012

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

  3 February 2012

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?

  3 February 2012

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

RuNet Echo  3 February 2012

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 won! […]” @VsemPohuy tweets [ru] about the DDoS attacks that followed the shutdown, and the situation in the country in...