Stories from 25 February 2012
Italy: Historic ‘Guilty’ Verdict in the Eternit Asbestos Trial
It is a historic verdict: on February 13, 2012 in Turin, northern Italy, the two top senior executives of the multinational Eternit, a producer of asbestos, were sentenced to 16 years in prison after a criminal trial began in 2009. Here are the reactions of the associations and the families of asbestos victims in Italy and Europe.
India: Why Can’t Women Own Land?
Rita Banerji discusses some recent court rulings in India and opines that “regardless of gender-neutral laws, even modern democracies like India that proudly flaunt their Constitution, have people in decision making capacities, as in government, law etc. who still apply the law within context of their old cultural mindsets.”
Sri Lanka: Female ex-combatants of LTTE Are At Risk
Shamila at Groundviews reports that female ex-LTTE members are at great risk as they have to report regularly to the military and their movements are closely monitored.
Pakistan: The Government Tender To Purchase Filtering Tools
Apparently the Pakistani government has invited tender to private and semi-private companies to purchase a tool to block thousands of urls. Awab Alvi and Faisal Kapadia hosts a video podcast at SpeakForChange to discuss why the government is doing this.
Bangladesh: The Ethical Dilemma of Using Opportunities
In developing countries, where bureaucracy, corruption and misinformation thrive, people may create opportunities to cash in from those anomalies. Some consider this as creativity or simply a part of the livelihood and some question about the ethics in using those opportunities.
Mexico: Group Looks for Independent Citizens to Run for Congress
Amidst a presidential election year, a group of young people is driving a series of changes that would allow independent citizens to run for Congress. Currently, in Mexico you need to belong to a political party to be elected for a position in Congress.
Iran: Another blogger was arrested
Nama Jafari,blogger and journalist was arrested. He was editor of a cultural site. He also wrote a book called “a gathering in solitary confinement”.
China: 1 Billion Mobile Phone Users
C Custer wrote in Asia Tech News for the World on the latest statistic of mobile users in China. The country's mobile phone users will break 1 billion in February 2012 and about 13.7 percent of China’s mobile users are on 3G.
Hong Kong, India: Farewell to Hong Kong
A southern Indian diaspora is about to leave Hong Kong for long after working in the city for 16 years. He explains why he won't miss the city in his blog, Walkerjay.
Australia: Political Paralysis Before Leadership Vote
Australia’s governing party will decide between the leadership of the country's current Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the one she deposed in 2010, Kevin Rudd. After months of speculation, Australian Labor Party parliamentarians will vote after a very self-destructive confrontation this week. Twitter is aflutter.
Russia: Bloggers’ Photo Reports and Reflections on Pro-Putin Rally in Moscow
On Thursday, February 23, ten days before the March 4 presidential election, the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed thousands of people at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. A number of Moscow-based bloggers attended the event, too. Below is a selection of their photo reports and observations, along with some of the remarks from their audiences.
