27 December 2012

Stories from 27 December 2012

Macedonia: Beer Belly Blog Anniversary

The “Beer Belly” blog celebrated [mk, mk] its first anniversary. Its author @Twibi thanked members of the Macedonian Twitter community who have been bringing him beer samples from their trips...

27 December 2012

Africa's Tainted Global Media Coverage

The #Kony2012 campaign contained quite a few over-simplifications about Africa. African media itself is not immune from this sort of criticism either. Here is a summary of the gems, errors and other inaccuracies in media coverage of Africa.

27 December 2012

Iran's Most Memorable Internet Moments in 2012

Here are some of the most memorable moments from the Iranian cyber world in 2012. The regime continued its repressive and merciless tactics against bloggers and netizens all year, culminating in the death by torture of Iranian blogger

27 December 2012

The Personal Lives of China’s New Leaders

Xinhua News has published[zh] a series of personal profiles of China's top leaders, including photos of their families, which was rare in Chinese media. The move was seen by many...

27 December 2012

South Korea: X-Mas Mass-Scale Speed-Dating

The first-ever mass speed-dating on the Christmas Eve in South Korea turns out to be a complete failure where 90% of participants were male. Reportedly over 20,000 people signed up and...

27 December 2012

Mexico: Federal Court Halts Controversial Wind Park

The largely indigenous opposition to wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec of Oaxaca, Mexico won a tremendous victory when a District Seven Federal Court judge granted an injunction temporarily halting the construction of a controversial wind park in San Dioniosio del Mar in the southern state of Oaxaca. While the indigenous Ikojts (Huave) peoples of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec celebrated and called for government and industry to comply with the decision, their grassroots struggle continues.

27 December 2012

Come to China During Christmas to Enjoy Religious Freedom!

In response to the criticism that China does not have religious freedom, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, Global Times, published an editorial on Christmas Eve inviting overseas China observers to spend their Christmas holiday in China.

27 December 2012

Bhutan: Steering Away From Democracy?

Bhutanomics comments: In form and structure Bhutan can be called a functioning democracy with elections, elected representatives and democratic institutions, but in terms of practice Bhutan is getting farther away...

27 December 2012

Balochistan Gets a Military Operation On Christmas Eve

The Pakistan army has launched a military operation in the Awaran district of Balochistan on Christmas Eve which resulted in many casualties. Apparently the operation was targeting the Tehsil Mashkai of separatist leader Dr. Allah Nazar’s home in Mahi village.

27 December 2012