Stories from 6 June 2012
India: Less Trees Prompt A Boiling Urban Summer
Rita Banerji opines that the main reason for the recent grueling summers in the cities is that more and more trees are being cut down.
Pakistan: Exploding Population And Depleting Resources
Saad Hirani sheds a light on the population explosion in Pakistan and the bleak future it shows with depleting resources.
Pakistan: Suspected Honor Killing of Five Girls for Celebrating with Boys
Five girls are reported to have been killed in Kohistan, Pakistan, for dancing and listening to music in the presence of boys at a marriage celebration after being convicted by...
Iran: “Pepsi-Cola advertisement on the moon”
Several bloggers and LensIran site talk about considerable number of Iranians who observed the moon from their roof tops to watch Pepsi-Cola commercial on the moon !! published by a...
Bahrain: Twitter User Investigated for Tweet
Bahraini Twitter user Mohammed Hasan (@Safybh) says he was called for questioning by the Bahrain Intelligence Agency yesterday (June 5). “After my tweet appeared on @ajstream I received an order...
Bangladesh: Journalists Advised to Stay Away From Police
The year 2012 has particularly been a bad year for Bangladeshi journalists. A number of them were subjected to police brutality while on duty, violently assaulted and even murdered by...
Bahrain: Activist Nabeel Rajab Arrested Over Tweets
“My father [Human Rights Defender] Nabeel Rajab is arrested again #Bahrain @NABEELRAJAB,” tweets Adam Nabeel Rajab from Bahrain. The activist is being detained for seven days pending investigation over comments...
Yemen: The Sheikh, Women and the NYT
Yemeni netizens are enraged by Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar, a member of Al Islah’s political leadership, who allegedly made an offensive statement regarding Yemeni revolutionary women to the New York Times....
Tajikistan: Lawyers Use Blogs to Provide Legal Advice
Internet users in Tajikistan can now get free legal consultation online. A Tajik NGO has trained [ru] a group of lawyers in running personal blogs through which they provide legal...
Kenya: Digital Activists Fight Corruption Online
I Paid a Bribe is an initiative of Kenyan anti-corruption activists fighting corruption in Kenya using the new technologies. I Paid a Bribe, modeled after India's anti-corruption portal (IPAB), is...
Honduras: Human Rights Delegation Blogs Findings
The Honduras Human Rights Delegation of May 2012 is “a delegation of academics, human rights and labor activists, Canadian and U.S. citizens, many with extensive experience in Honduras, organized by...
Spain: “Occupying” the Banks on the Street and the Net
The bailout of Bankia could cost 23,000 million euros but the governing politicians and the managers of Bankia do not seem interested in holding those responsible accountable. In the face...
Macedonia: One Year Since the Murder of Martin Neshkovski
It has been one year since the murder of Martin Neshkovski by Prime Minister's bodyguard during the post-election celebration on June 6, 2011. The authorities’ attempts to cover up the...
Brazil: Magazine Gives Homeless People a Chance
Ocas Magazine, handed out on the streets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro since 2002, is one such publication that contains information that sets it apart from the mainstream...
China: Forgiving the Tiananmen Massacre Murderers?
While more than 180,000 people attended the annual candlelight vigil on June 4, in Hong Kong for China's June 4th incident (Tiananmen Square protests), exiled former student leader Chai Ling...
Zambia Fixes Maize Price Again, Flustering World Bank
Increases in the price of maize, a staple food of Zambia, has previously led citizens to riot and even stage a government coup. Despite warnings from the World Bank that...
Saudi Arabia: Moral Courage to Speak Up
Saudi blogger Eman Al Najfan shares her thoughts on Manal Al Sharif, a women's rights activist, in this post. “[I]n Saudi, there are many women and men who oppose how...
Ukraine: A Roma Camp Burned Down in Kyiv
On its Facebook page, the Human Rights Information Center posted a photo report [uk] on the demolition of a Roma camp in Kyiv, which was home to some 70 people,...
Kenya: Urban Gardening Taking Root
In Kenya, city dwellers are learning different techniques to grow food for consumption and sale even in reduced spaces. For people with low or no income, urban gardening may be...
Afghanistan: Girls Poisoned for Attending School
Although a ban on education for girls and women in Afghanistan was lifted after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, female students continue being targeted by fundamentalists for attending...
