Stories from 12 November 2012
Iranian Blogger Sattar Beheshti Tortured to Death
Iranian netizens have launched a major online storm after the shocking news of a blogger's death in custody was first posted by opposition websites. Sattar Beheshti was arrested on October 28, 2012 and announced dead some ten days after his arrest.
Catalan TV Show Flares Debate Over Independence from Spain
Catalan public television, TV3, recently broadcast a special news program called "Independence, step by step". It has caused massive debate at a heated moment in Catalan politics, not long before an election that is considered a plebiscite over the Catalonia's independence from Spain.
The Trouble With Russian Nationalism
This year, Unity Day lived up to its name, though in a rather unexpected way. In 46 towns and cities across Russia, including Moscow, roughly 30 thousand people took part in far-right extremist rallies. While this is an infinitesimally small fraction of the country's total population, Unity Day's far-right groups have managed to attract supporters all over Russia.
Street Children of Bangladesh Vulnerable to Abuse
The total number of street children in Bangladesh is estimated at 400,000. Almost half of these children live in Dhaka city alone. A very large percentage of these children are young girls. These female street children are living in a dangerous situation vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Ecuador's President Correa Runs for Reelection
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa announced that he is running for reelection in the upcoming February 2013 elections. Bloggings by boz argues that there are three issues that matter in this election: the economy, citizen security, and personality: At the moment, Correa has an advantage on the economy and personality. The...
Brazil: Rio de Janeiro Demands Better Sanitation
The initiative Sanitation is Basic, launched by the nonprofit organisation Meu Rio, has served as a slogan for the increase in online campaigns owing to popular online pressure created by citizens and social movements in Rio. According to the organisation, "half the population in Rio de Janeiro is still without mains water and sewerage."
Guinea-Bissau: More citizen frustration with turmoil
Buala blog shared a message circulating via email by Moema Parente Augel e Johannes Augel [Pt] raising international awareness about the “abusive and illegal regime” in Guinea-Bissau and what they deem to be an attempted counter-coup on October 21. IT specialist Gabriel Vaz also shared his dissatisfaction with turmoil in his...
Coalition of African Nations Agrees to Send 3,300 Soldiers a year to Northern Mali
Seven African nations of ECOWAS namely Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Togo have agreed with Malian government [fr] to send 3,300 soldiers a year to Northern Mali to take back control of northern Mali from Islamist fighters. Other nations outside the ECOWAS might also send in troops.
French Government Eases Strict Immigration Policy
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, during a speech in Toulouse in southwestern France, expressed his desire to change his country's immigration policy, amending the naturalization requirements and, in particular, doing away with the multiple choice tests and the need to have signed a permanent employment contract. Here is a summary of the reactions to these new measures.
Laid-off Workers Turn from Victims to Debtors in Taiwan
Taiwan's Council of Labour Affairs (CLA), a government body in charge of protecting labour rights, wants to sue workers who were laid-off by private factories sixteen years ago. The council seeks money from the Legislative Yuan to bring legal action against more than 2,000 workers, who they say never returned the 'loan' the government offered as compensation for being laid off.
Thousands Celebrate Malala Day & Sign Nobel Peace Prize Petition
15 year-old education activist Malala Yousufzai, who was shot on 9 October 2012 by members of the Taliban, is recovering slowly. On November 10, 2012 people around the world celebrated Malala as a beacon for 32 million girls who can not go to school.
Tajik Police Explained
We can criticize the law-enforcement agencies as much as we want and argue that police is not doing its job properly and that police officers are not to be trusted... But problems with the police are just a reflection of problems in our society as a whole.
An Online Project for Monitoring the State of Russia's Roads
The RosYama project is a method of monitoring the state of the roads and their compliance with latest government standards. Anyone who notices a roadway that fails to meet these standards can use RosYama's service.
New Governor Elected in Puerto Rico
After a hard-fought election in which there was never a clear trend from the beginning, Alejandro García Padilla was declared elected Governor. In the status plebiscite held along with the general elections, the option of annexation to the United States won for the first time. However, given the massive abstention along with a poorly conceived referendum, the results are not easy to interpret.
Student Dies in Protests in Dominican Republic
On Thursday the 8th of November, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo was the scene of one of several protests against the fiscal reform. During the protest, the police caused the death of 21-year-old medical student, William Florián Ramírez. It didn't take long for the indignation to spread to social networks.
