13 April 2012

Stories from 13 April 2012

Russia: Proposed NATO Hub in Ulyanovsk Sparks Protests

RuNet Echo

A wave of online indignation has since spread to the streets, leading to hunger strikes and anti-NATO marches in Ulyanovsk and Moscow, in response to a transport hub that will be based on an airfield in Ulyanovsk, a medium sized city on the Volga River, and the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin.

13 April 2012

Russia: Ilya Varlamov, Omsk's Blogger-Mayor?

RuNet Echo

In the city of Omsk, a local activist group has arranged online primaries for opposition candidates, in order to nominate one for the city's June mayoral election. Popular Muscovite photoblogger Ilya Varlamov has emerged as the contest's front runner, but what impact could his candidacy have on regional politics?

13 April 2012

Perspectives on North Korea's Unsuccessful Rocket Launch

North Korea launched a rocket on April 12, despite international warnings of censure and further isolation. But to its embarrassment, the rocket disintegrated right after the launch and its remnants fell into the sea. This incident stirred up numerous debates in the South Korean Internet.

13 April 2012

Cuba: The Visit of Camila Vallejo

David Vásquez Abella blogs at La Pupila Insomne [es] about Chilean student and communist youth leader Camila Vallejo‘s visit to Cuba this week for a meeting of Cuba's Union of Communist Youth. A leading...

13 April 2012

Cuba: Cyberfeminism in Havana

At En 2310 y 8225 [es] Cuba-based blogger Yasmín Portales writes of an upcoming academic symposium in Havana on ciberfeminismo, or “cyberfeminism.” Though glad to be participating, Portales questions the definition...

13 April 2012

China: Social Mediascape

Michael Hurwitz of ChinesePod gave a very clear introduction of the Chinese social mediascape to encourage foreigners to interact with Chinese netizens. (via Tea Leaf Nation)

13 April 2012

Guinea-Bissau: Coup d'Etat and the Angolan Military Mission

At nightfall on April 12, the military started yet another coup d'etat in Guinea-Bissau. In recent weeks, allegations of "generalized fraud" in the presidential elections, and the announcement of the withdrawal of the Angolan military mission in the country, had raised the tension levels in the military and political arenas.

13 April 2012

Pakistan: Incessant Violence in Karachi

The bloodshed in Karachi, which has killed more than 300 people in the last three months, hasn't come to a halt. The common people of the city are extremely dejected by the present conditions of the city. The million dollar question is, ‘why does violence always returns in Karachi?'

13 April 2012

Peru: What Is Killing the Dolphins?

The news that 3,000 dolphins have been found dead along the coastline of north Peru so far this year has shocked the world. Citizens and activists are using social networking sites to provide information and make people aware of these deaths so that the cause can be investigated.

13 April 2012