14 February 2013

Stories from 14 February 2013

North Korea's Nuclear Slap on the Chinese New Year

  14 February 2013

While the Chinese were celebrating their Lunar New Year, Pyongyang launched their third underground nuclear test just 100km away from their border with China. So far the Chinese government's response has been moderate. But online, both the pro-North Korea nationalists and the anti-North Korea liberals are not happy.

Under Pressure, Spain Opens Door to Foreclosure Reform

  14 February 2013

The Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH), joined by an impressive social movement, fought for Congress to change mortgage legislation in Spain. In the end, the Popular Party bowed to intense public pressure mobilized via the #ILPescrache hashtag.

‘Follow the Pope's Lead,’ Brazil Tells Senate President

  14 February 2013

Brazilians reveling in the recent Carnival holiday called on newly elected Senate President Renan Calheiros, who is accused of corruption, to follow Pope Benedict XVI's example and resign. An online petition demanding his ouster has gathered more than 1.5 million signatures.

A Fantastic Comeback for Trinidad & Tobago Carnival

  14 February 2013

The International Soca Monarch Competition in Trinidad and Tobago is a major highlight of the country's Carnival festivities but this year it also served as a comeback for former winner Austin “SuperBlue” Lyons, who managed to tie defending champion Machel Montano for first place and a share of the International Soca Monarch title. Bloggers think it was a masterful return to the Carnival arena.

Secret Life and Death of Mossad Spy ‘Prisoner X’

  14 February 2013

Revelations by Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) progamme Foreign Correspondent on 12 February, 2013 have fired up onliners. The mysterious Prisoner X who allegedly committed suicide in an Israeli gaol in 2010 was not only a dual citizen of Australia and Israel, but also a Mossad agent.

Hand-painted Ads in Guinea-Bissau

  14 February 2013

In Guinea-Bissau “there is a real market of experts on painting wall advertisements”, says landscape architect Manuel Bivar. In 2011, he shared a collection of photos featuring hand-painted ads from Guinean shops on the African contemporary culture website, Buala.

Blood on the Russian Tracks

RuNet Echo  14 February 2013

Earlier today, the Russian Railways concluded its official investigation into the death of Elena Soboleva, who died on January 18 crossing the tracks at the Saltykovskaia train platform [ru], located just east of Moscow. The Railways (or RZhD, as it's known in Russian) determined [ru] that Ms. Soboleva was responsible for her...