Stories from 11 April 2013
Bahamas: Limericks for Thatcher
She has to be admired for her ability to transform her country…as a middle-class woman in the conservative party. But I remember apartheid, and…how she almost destroyed the British university system, and…made Britain unwelcoming. Blogworld writes limericks in commemoration of the Iron Lady.
Jamaica: Folklorist Olive Lewin Dies
Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp notes the passing of Jamaican folklorist and author, Dr. Olive Lewin.
Petitioning North Korea to Stop Nuclear Threat
As war rhetoric intensifies every day in Korean peninsula and even nuclear threats were made by North Korea, an online petition by ICAN was posted on Change.org, urging North Korea and heads of the Six-Nation Talks to return to the negotiating table.
Hating on Russia's Protester Chess Master
Dissidents have fled Russia for as long as there has been a Russia from which to flee. Earlier this week, April 7, 2013, activist Ilya Yashin startled many when he announced [ru] on Twitter that protest figure and former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov had abandoned his leadership position in the...
Uruguay Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
Uruguay has become the second Latin American country, after Argentina, to legalize same-sex marriage. Under Uruguayan law, marriage is now defined as “the permanent union between two people of the same or opposite sex."
Southeast Asia Lionizes ‘Iron Lady’ Margaret Thatcher
Southeast Asians mourning the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher urged their own leaders to emulate the Iron Lady's "iron" quality.
Putin Unfazed by Topless Protest in Hannover
On Monday, 8 April 2013, Putin's tour of a trade fair in Hannover with German Chancellor Angela Merkel took an unexpected turn when three members of the controversial Ukrainian feminist and self-described “sextremist” organization FEMEN [en] staged a half-naked protest [photo gallery] aimed at the Russian president. Their bodies painted with anti-Putin slogans in...
Ethiopia Accused of Ethnic Cleansing Over Mass Amhara Evictions
The Amhara people of Ethiopia who originally came from their own region, Amhara region, but were settled in the adjacent region called Benishangul Gumuz are being evicted en masse from the place they been have dwelling for many years.
China Pulls ‘Django Unchained’
Chinese cinemas cancelled all screenings of Quentin Tarantino's “Django Unchained” last minute on April 11 due to “technical reasons”. Netizens think the theme on freedom is the main reason for the cancellation. Journalist Wu Yonggang wrote[zh] on Sina Weibo, which translated as: The technical issue is a small problem, the bigger...
Croatia's Sports Lesson for Ukraine
Ukraine, with its population of 45 million people, has much to learn from Croatia, population just over 4 million, in terms of organizing affordable and accessible sports activities for children.
Pediatricians Strike in Russian Republic of Udmurtia
Starting in early March, Andrey Konoval, an Izhevsk-based journalist, activist, and former deputy, has written over 20 blog posts covering the ongoing battle of local pediatricians against Udmurtia's health ministry.
Every Minute Six Patients are Diagnosed with Cancer in China
It's official. The 'plague' of cancer is at the center of a major public health crisis in China. Six patients are diagnosed with cancer every minute, that's 8,550 new cancer patients every day, according to the 2012 China Cancer Census.
Tajik Blogger Urges to Stop ‘Topless Jihad’
[D]o something useful. Stop sticking your breasts there where they may offend people. And don't stand in the way of real feminists doing their noble job.