Stories from 1 July 2012
Cuba: The Significance of Palfrey's Swim
Today, two Cuban bloggers - one who lives in Havana and the other from the diaspora, living in Florida, discuss the attempt by Penny Palfrey, a 49-year-old British-Australian swimmer and grandmother, to swim the imposing stretch of water between Cuba and the Florida Keys.
China: Passengers and crew foil hijack attempt
Six would-be hijackers from Xinjiang province were restrained by passengers ten minutes after take-off in Hotang, a remote city in western Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region. While many western mainstream have covered the story, Sino Weibo (Chinese Twitter) provided more compelling details on this.
Kyrgyzstan: Public Divided Over Politician's Arrest
Nariman Tuleev, a popular Kyrgyz opposition politician, has been detained on corruption charges. Some welcome the politician's arrest as an indication of the government's resolve to fight corruption, others view it as politically motivated.
Armenia: Military Doctor Dies after Oligarch MP Guard Beating
Unzipped updates its readers on the recent beating of three military doctors at a restaurant owned by one of Armenia's most infamous and controversial oligarch MPs. Following the death of one of the victims from his injuries, the blog posts a subtitled video detailing the attitude of Ruben Hayrapetyan, also...
Colombia: Eruption of Nevado del Ruiz Volcano
President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed on Twitter [es] the eruption (of ashes) of Nevado del Ruiz volcano (in western central Colombia), which occurred [es] Saturday June 30 at 17:40 (22:40 UTC). Social media users initially reported apparent calm in Manizales, the closest city to the volcano, where there is a...
Kenya: Gospel Rapper to Screen Connections Documentary
Gospel rapper Juliani will screen his Connections Documentary on July 1 at the Dandora Stadium. This documentary is a culmination of his Kama Si Sisi countrywide tours that has seen him urge the youth to believe in themselves and think about leadership, Hot Secrets reports.
Somalia: Speaker Urges People to Support Draft Constitution
The speaker of Somali parliament Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, called on Wednesday upon the people of Somalia to support new draft constitution for the country, Shabelle Media Network reports.
Colombia: Accessing the Internet in Germany
Ana María Vallejo, a Colombian studying in Germany, has written a two-part series (1, 2) [es] on her experience accessing the Internet in that country. She compares it with her experience in Colombia and describes the restrictions for accessing some content there.
