29 March 2013

Stories from 29 March 2013

Russian Anti-Corruption Blogger Appeals to Readers

RuNet Echo  29 March 2013

Alexey Navalny, unofficial protest leader, took to his blog [ru] on March 27 to defend himself from what he says are unfair allegations of corruption. Navalny is currently a suspect in two different embezzlement investigations. One of these, the so-called KirovLes case, involves the supposed use of a shell company to...

Europe for the People, Not the Markets

  29 March 2013

From March 11 to 17 European citizens organized a week of protests against austerity measures imposed on the countries of the European Union, know as the European Counter Summit. People from different countries have protested in the streets and commented on the events through Twitter under the tag #EuropeanSpring.

Brazilian LGBT Advocates Beaten, One Arrested

  29 March 2013

On March 27, a protest against the recent election of congressman and controversial evangelical preacher Marco Feliciano as chairman of the Committee for Human Rights and Minorities in the Brazilian Deputy Chamber ended with repression against LGBT rights advocates. On Youtube, Rodrigo Grassi shared the moment when one of the protestors...

Will Brazil Stem New Tide of Immigration?

  29 March 2013

The global financial crisis, wars and natural disasters have inspired a new wave of immigration to Brazil. The development of successful immigration policies may contribute to Brazil’s reputation as an emerging global power.

Censoring Censorship in China

  29 March 2013

The above screen capture of a local news brief has gone viral on Chinese social media yesterday. It said: “Recently Myanmar has unblocked Facebook, the world's most popular social media website. Now only four countries in the world still blocked Facebook, including South Korea, Cuba, Iran and another country.” Other...

China Government's Growing Weibo Footprint

  29 March 2013

The number of Chinese government Weibo accounts has soared over the past few years and will continue to be so. Via China Digital Times: The survey by the Chinese Academy of Governance found that by December 20, 2012, a total of 176,700 Weibo accounts had been opened by government organs...

Beware: North Korea Rockets on Standby

  29 March 2013

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered rockets on standby to attack US military bases in South Korea in response to recent U.S.-South Korea joint military drills. North Korea Leadership Watch blog post a full script of North Korean state media report on this. 

China's Social Web Fawns Over First Lady

  29 March 2013

China's fashionable first lady Peng Liyuan has not only made the front cover of newspapers home and abroad, but also has attracted a hardcore following on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo.

Trinidad & Tobago: Warner's Woes

  29 March 2013

The headlines in Trinidad and Tobago's mainstream media over the last couple of days have focused on a Reuters exclusive report that Daryan Warner, son of former FIFA Vice-President (and now the country's controversial Minister of National Security) Jack Warner, is allegedly assisting the FBI with its investigations into corruption allegations in the international football governing body. Social media users weigh in.