Stories from 3 September 2012
Southeast Asia: Government Online Media Projects
Southeast Asian governments have been maximizing the internet space by establishing various social media profiles, one stop public service portals, and online transparency tools.
Morocco: Sexual Abuse to Cry Long Live the King
Once we got to the police station, they stripped us of all of our clothing and stuck hard objects into our anuses. They also ripped out our eyelashes, reports Nour...
Bahrain: Leading Opposition Figures on Trial
Bahrain's High Court of Appeals is expected to announce its verdict in the case of 13 leading opposition figures accused of plotting to overthrow the regime tomorrow [September 4, 2012]. While international human rights organisations describes them as “prisoners of conscience,” Bahraini authorities and the local Press call them “terrorists” for their role in anti-government protests, which started in Bahrain on February 14, 2011.
Bahrain: “Our Women are Iron Women”
Bahraini Twitter users took a break from politics and had some fun this morning on the microblogging social network. Artist Anas Al Shaikh read a news article which said that an Iraqi woman had killed herself in protest against her husband watching dubbed Turkish soap operas. Bahraini women respond they will not do such a thing because ... they are iron women.
Azerbaijan: Nationalism, Extradition, and an Axe Murderer
Scary Azeri comments on the extradition to Azerbaijan of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani soldier who murdered an Armenian counterpart on a NATO training course in Budapest, Hungary, with an axe....
Colombia: Guerrilla Group's Peace Negotiation Rap Video
The Colombian government has accepted the start of peace talks with the longest lived guerrilla group in Latin America, FARC (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces), and in response the group has released a musical rap video.
El Salvador: A Homage for a Salvadoran Heroine
Blogger Mariposa in the blog Hunnapuh [es] writes about María Guardado (also known as “Lenchita”), a Salvadoran woman who was tortured in 1980, during the Salvadoran Civil War. Lenchita was...
Germany: Improve Reporting on Disabled People
It ought to become something understood in the language that disabled people do things not in spite of or because of, but with their disabilities. During the Paralympics in London...
Hong Kong: National Education Program Prompts Hunger Strike, Sit-In
Activists have been campaigning against the controversial National Educational program due to be phased into Hong Kong schools, holding hunger strikes and an overnight sit-in.
Tunisia: Racism on the Rise ?
Frederick Gore Djo Bi wrote [fr] on africavox.com about the rise of racism against black Africans in Tunisia. In his post, Bi quotes a testimony of Fabien Siei, an Ivorian engineering...
2012 Paralympics: A Successful Start, Remarkable Stories
Martine Wright, a survivor of the London bombings, Rim Ju Song, the first North Korean participant who, a few months ago, could not swim; and Hassiem Achmat, who survived a shark attack. Just some of the remarkable Paralympic athletes.
Malaysia: Financial Stress Closes Independent Chinese Media Site
Merdeka Review, a Chinese online independent media founded in 2005 in Malaysia, was officially closed down in August 31. Due to the withdrawal of the support of a major funder, the news organization had been under financial stress since 2011.
Africa, Turkey: Turkish Citizens With African Roots
Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere writes on en.qantara.de: When asked about their self-definition, the large majority said they defined themselves primarily as Turks. Only a minority saw themselves as “Turkish citizens with African...
China: What's Stopping Chinese Economic Reform
Chinese lawyer @Yuan Yulai posted a cartoon on Sina Weibo that explains the link between economic reform (the train) and political reform (the track). Tea Leaf Nation has more explanation.
Hong Kong: Students’ Patriotic Record
Although the Hong Kong government claimed that it is not mandatory for elementary schools to adopt national education in the next three years, a teacher exposed that the Hong Kong...
Angola: Brazilian firm's electoral advice to ruling party leaked
Club-K leaked a study conducted by Brazilian firm SENSUS in July [Pt] which significantly informed the ruling party's electoral strategy. It warns Angolans are dissatisfied with inequality with young people using...
Kenya: Investigative Blogger Charged With Intercepting Data
Kenyan investigative blogger, Dennis Itumbi, has been charged with intercepting data in a computer system without consent for allegedly publishing internal emails revealing serious security flaws at a regional airline.
Africa: Children Film Education and Jobs
Our Africa is a project which lets children across Africa film education and jobs in their countries the way they see them.
Russia: Governors’ LiveJournals Ranked
Writing in his own LiveJournal, Sergei Nikitskii (the director of Governors.Ru) ranked [ru] the LJ accounts of Russia's 13 blogging governors. Kirovskaia oblast Governor Nikita Belykh [ru], a former oppositionist politician, scored highest...
