Stories from 12 April 2013
China Yanks ‘Django Unchained’ from Theaters
Chinese censors abruptly pulled the Oscar-winning movie “Django Unchained” from the country’s cinemas on the day of its premiere in an unexpected about-face after the movie's week-long promotion in China.
Peru: Smile for Your ID Picture
In Peru, Twitter users turned to the hashtag #DNIfeliz [happy ID card] to encourage citizens to smile for their ID document photo, commonly known as DNI. Traditionally, citizens have a serious or even stern expression on their ID picture.
Kyrgyzstan: Where Every Joke is on the Capital's Mayor
KVN - the Russian abbreviation for Club of the Funny and Inventive - remains a national comedy institution in many states of the former Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan, whose capital has recently hosted the Central Asian league of KVN, is no exception. But while most people in the country enjoy the humor, the Kyrgyz capital's mayor is looking on red-faced, emerging as the butt of every other joke.
Racism Remarks in the NYT Land Cuban Intellectual in Trouble
Author Roberto Zurbano's tough talk on racism in Cuba published in The New York Times apparently cost him is job as editor at a publishing house and generated a heated debate among the island's intellectuals.
Transparency NGOs Prepare for Sunday’s Election in Venezuela
As Venezuelan voters prepare to head to the polls for the second time in six months, a group of NGOs have come together to work towards transparency in the electoral process.
São Tomé and Príncipe: Petition Against Deforestation
Raul Jorge, a Santomean citizen, launched a petition [fr] against deforestation in São Tomé and Príncipe, addressed to the current Prime Minister Gabriel Costa. The petition has already gathered more than 700 signatures. In October 2012, Global Voices reported about the situation; in response netizens published videos and a Facebook...
Egypt: Prime Minister Prescribes Smurf Diet
Hesham Qandil, Egypt's Prime Minister, is an illustruous expert in healthcare issues as attested by, e.g. his insightful comments about ‘dirty boobs breastfeeding’. The Prime Minister delivered another priceless advice to Twitter users, this time about a healthy diet:
Caution as Yemen Hands Diplomatic Immunity to Top Military
Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has removed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh's son Ahmed, the head of the Republican Guard, and appointed him as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Saleh's nephew Ammar, the deputy intelligence chief, was appointed military attache in Ethiopia, Ammar's brother, Tareq Yahia, head of the Presidential Guard, was appointed as military attache in Germany. Removing the Saleh's relatives from power has been an major challenge in restructuring Yemen's military, and an obstacle to the transitional government. Netizens react.
You're Sponsoring Neonazis on Greek TV!
@northaura: #xa_advertising is about a twitter movement protest by email in #Greece to push advertisers off ever again supporting pro-neonazi TV shows. Blogger @ypopto_mousi started a campaign to inform the sponsors [el] of a highly controversial SKAI TV panel featuring four neonazi Golden Dawn MPs, that they are sponsoring hate speech. The blogger is...
Greek Government Shutters Athens Indymedia
A leading alternative news site in Greece, Athens Indymedia announced it was being suppressed by Greek judicial authorities, along with two radio stations, and provided a Tor link [el] for alternate access. Potmos asserted on the significance of the site for independent news in Greece: @potmos: Fast and accurate info posted on Athens #Indymedia led to life sentence...
Can Cyprus Turn Back from the Abyss? Three Options to Escape the Financial Crisis
The small island of Cyprus continues its race against bankruptcy. Following the European decision to tax all depositors, the Mediterranean republic faces a critical situation. Three options are emerging for the island: to carry out an agreement with Europe, to turn to Russia, or to declare bankruptcy and leave the Eurozone.
Haiti: CARICOM Should Speak Up
Appalled by the “legal immunity” that the United Nations appears to have in the country's cholera epidemic, Kevin Edmonds says that it's high time Caribbean leaders speak up for Haiti.
China Puts Ancient Buddhist Temple on Chopping Block
Local Chinese authorities, in a bid to preserve parts of the historic Silk Road trade route, have ordered the destruction of the ancient Xingjiao Temple, which holds the remains of 7th-century Buddhist monk Xuan Zang.
