Stories from 15 May 2012
Macedonia: Blogging in Estonian about Skopje Marathon/Half-Marathon
Sandra Jürs blogged in Estonian about her participation in the Skopje Marathon/Half-Marathon [mk, en] on May 6, 2012.
Norway: Discussing Latin America at the Oslo Freedom Forum
Last week the fourth gathering of the Oslo Freedom Forum was carried out, organized by the Human Rights Foundation in the Norwegian capital. The event covered a series of topics that involved other world regions, including Latin America.
Malawi: Kondwani Munthali: Malawi's Blogger of the Year
Victor Kaonga interviews Kondwani Munthali who made history this month by becoming the first blogger to be awarded Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Blogging Award of the year in Malawi. Munthali has been blogging since 2007.
Bermuda: Austerity Reasons
Two Bermudian blogs discuss government austerity measures, here and here.
Caribbean: Supporting Our Mothers
Mother's Day, celebrated this past weekend all across the Caribbean, was a hot topic of discussion with regional bloggers - or rather, mothers were. From posts of admiration and thanks to accounts of how women regularly defy oppression, it was a mixed bag, but one that mothers everywhere would have been happy to sample from…
Cuba: Dissident Ferrer Garcia Re-Released
Havana Times reports that dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia was released by authorities late last week “after being held for more than 24 hours without his whereabouts being made known.”
Guyana: Creator of “Cuffie” Statue Dies
Demerara Waves acknowledges the passing of “internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor, Philip Moore”, who was perhaps best known for sculpting the 1763 Monument, a tribute to Cuffy, a former slave who is recognised as a national hero in Guyana.
Colombia: 5 Dead, 19 Injured After Bomb Blast in Bogotá
Netizens are reacting to the explosion of a bomb on a bus on Caracas Avenue and 74th street in Bogotá, Colombia's capital. The attack was allegedly directed at former Interior Minister Fernando Londoño. The latest reports [es] list 5 dead and 19 people injured. Related words and phrases like “74...
Mozambique: “Who wants to give birth here?”
Knight International Journalism Fellow Mercedes Sayagues published a video (with versions in English and Portuguese) which takes viewers on a sad tour of maternity clinics in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. The province has the highest maternal mortality rate in Mozambique.
Africa: Development or Democracy, Which Comes First?
The question of whether Africa needs to sacrifice democracy in order to focus on economic development has become the subject of much discussion online after the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi claimed at the World Economic Forum that there is no relationship between economic growth and democracy.
China: Propaganda Against U.S. Ambassador Backfires
Since the escape of blind civic rights activist Chen Guangcheng into the U.S embassy, the U.S Ambassador Gary Locke has become the major target for media attack in Bejing. However, so far each piece of political propaganda has resulted in a backfire.
Kyrgyzstan: Can a Blogger be the Fourth Branch of Government?
Ilya Karimdjanov is a pest. Armed with a camera, a question and the most popular blog on Kyrgyzstan's most popular blogging platform, Kloop.kg, he is a one-man citizen media machine, the nemesis of rule-breaking cops, corrupt university teachers and the Kyrgyz monetary system. Well, someone has to keep them all...
Brazil: ‘Hands That Cure, Words That Heal’
With their herbs, gestures, prayers and comforting words, folk healing is an important element of Brazilian culture. Although some people believe that traditional healing art is disappearing, folk healers from two Brazilian cities have just had their activities recognised by pioneering laws.
Costa Rica: Blogger Interviews President Laura Chinchilla
Blogger Cristian Cambronero from the blog Fusil de Chispas interviewed [es] Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla. The interview was in part filmed by the production team Sürrealista [es], and two photographers (Priscilla Mora [es] and Diego Barracuda [es]) captured the meeting between Cristian and the President through photographs. You can read...
Latin America: Art from the Colonial Period in 2.0
We present a sample of the numerous blogs, videos and internet sites dedicated to promoting knowledge about colonial period art, a common artistic denominator for the majority of the American continent, the individual indigenous cultures of which first adopted and then adapted as their own.
Russia: Duma Deputy Wants Criminal Liability for Extremist Tweets
Yesterday, on May 14, Aleksandr Khinshtein, a Duma deputy and member of United Russia, wrote a letter to Yuri Chaika, the Prosecutor General of Russia. In that letter, Khinshtein noted emerging extremist trends on Twitter and Facebook, and called on the state to prosecute users who advocate violence and other illegal acts.
Iran: A blogger was arrested
Iranian cyber police (Fata) announced [fa] a blogger in the northern city of Rasht was arrested. The blogger was accused of writing in his blog against Rasht's authorities and trying to “disturb public opinion”. Iranian police did not mention the blogger's name.
Iran: Successful campaign against lashes for cartoonist
An online campaign against lashes for Iranian cartoonist turned to be successful. Mahmoud Shokrayeh was sentenced to 25 lashes for a caricature of a local MP, Ahmad Lotfi. Iranian cartoonists launched a campaign on Facebook and cyberspace to draw Mr. Lotfi's cartoons in condemning this verdict. You can see some...
India: Cricket Or Wife
Jaspreet discusses how some Indian men have to balance between their love for cricket and obviously for their wife.
Bangladesh: Economic of Marriage payments
“There are two kinds of marriage payments — dowry and brideprice, with significant differences among their prevalences in time and across societies,” – informs J. Rahman at Mukti.
Russia: Website Appears Publishing Civil Servants’ Incomes
The project "Public Profit" was established so that anyone interested could access information about the salaries of civil servants and state deputies. The information is compiled using public records and disclosed in accordance with Russian law. The published data are often surprising.
